indus valley state railway - sanipanhwar.com

Indus Valley StateRailwayADMINISTRATION REPORT

ON THE

CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY

FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT

TO THE

CLOSE OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR

1878-79.

Reproduced bySani H. Panhwar

Indus Valley State Railway: Copyright © www. sanipanhwar.com 1

INDUS VALLEY STATE

RAILWAY

ADMINISTRATION REPORT

ON THE

CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY

FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT

TO THE

CLOSE OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR

1878-79.


INDUS VALLEY STATE RAILWAY

Administration Report from the commencement to the end of' the Financial year 1878-79.

This Report is for the most part a compilation from the Annual and other Reportssubmitted by the Engineer-in-Chief. A map is attached showing the country in theneighborhood of the line and the principal geographical features which affect it.

Early History 1865 to 1870.

The line from Lahore to Mooltan had been. constructed by the Punjab RailwayCompany, and that from Kotri to Karachi by the Scinde Company.

The "connecting link" of 500 miles between Mooltan and Kotri was first surveyed in theinterests of the latter Company about the year 1865 by Mr. Brunton. The general line ofhis survey coincides with that finally adopted, except that he did not diverge to

Shujabad between Mooltan and Bahawalpur, and that to avoid the Mirpur floods hekept to the eastward on the line of desert. He also surveyed an alternative line belowSukkur on the left bank of the Indus running directly to Hyderabad.

1870-71.

2. The State first undertook this line of railway in 1870-71, and in the cold weatherof that year the upper section, between Mooltan and Sukkur, was surveyed, beingdivided for the purpose into two Districts; the Mooltan District of 137 miles, and theRohri District of 133 miles.

1871-72.

3. The field work was completed, and during the hot weather of 1871-72 the partieswere engaged in plotting and reducing their work and in preparing preliminaryestimates, which were submitted to Government in the autumn. A party of Engineerswas also engaged on the arduous task of watching and recording observations of thefloods in the Upper Scinde District, a duty involving. constant exposure and muchhardship.

4. In November 1871 sanction was given to commence the work generally of bothDistricts, excluding the bridge over the Sutlej river at Adamwahan. At the same timethe two. Districts mere subdivided into six Executive Divisions, and the name of thelower district was altered from "Rohri" to that of the "Upper Scinde" District.

5. In December 1871 an Engineer-in-Chief was appointed to the charge of thewhole line from Mooltan to Kotri, and in January 1872 the lower section, Sukkur to


Kotri, about 230 miles in length, was constituted a district, to be called the "LowerScinde District" for survey operations which were immediately commenced and rapidlycompleted.

1872-73.

6. In the hot weather of this year the Survey parties of the Lower Scinde Districtplotted their work, and submitted an estimate to Government, which was accepted, andwork was ordered to be commenced.

7. To equalize the charges of the whole line, a final distribution was made in January

1873, as follows:—

Mooltan District - Mooltan to mile 172, excluding the Sutlej Bride Division, which

remained direct under charge of the Engineer-in-Chief, comprising—

Shujabad Division, 50 miles.(Sutlej Bridge Division, 13 miles.

Bahawalpur Division, 59 miles.Khanpur Division, 50 miles.

Upper Scinde District—from 172 to 338 mile, excluding the Indus Bridge Division,

which remained under direct charge of the Engineer-in-Chief, comprising—

Reti Division, 49 miles.Ghotki Division, 49 miles

(Indus Bridge Division, 15 milesLarkana Division, 53 miles

Lower Scinde District—from 338 to 498, comprising -

Mehur Division, 53 miles.Sehwan Division, 55 miles

Kotri Division, 52 miles

Engineering Staff appointed.

8. To each Executive Division an Executive Engineer and Staff of AssistantEngineers was appointed. The Sutlej Bridge Division was placed under charge of an

Executive Engineer, with the powers of a Superintendent of Works. The Indus BridgeDivision under an Executive Engineer, and for the administration of each District, aSuperintending Engineer was appointed, the whole being under the direction of theEngineer-in-Chief, residing at Mooltan.


Progress in the Mooltan District.

9. During this year the following progress was made in the works;—

In the Mooltan District 155 miles of embankment were completed, 32 culverts werebuilt, and 40 miles of ballast collected. The buildings of 8 out of 15 stations were erected,with 10 houses for Staff Quarters.

Thirty-five lakhs of bricks were burnt in preparation for the Sutlej Bridge, and about as

many more for works on the line.

Observations in the Sutlej river.

10. Systematic observations were recorded of floods in the Sutlej river, a survey ofthe bed was made, trial wells were sunk to a depth of 100 feet, and other necessary

measures, for completing the necessary data for designing a bridge, were taken.

Destructive floods in the Sutlej river.

11. During this year serious damage was done by an incursion of the river into thenewly established colony at Adamwahan. The stream, which had hitherto followed a

fairly direct course past Adamwahan, suddenly became tortuous, it swung across fromthe Bahawalpur side and drove directly against the Adamwahan bank, which in spite ofthe efforts of the Engineers, who hastily constructed solid spurs and groynes ofbrushwood to withstand the attack, was eroded to a depth of some 400 yards, involvingthe destruction of the largest block of the quarters recently erected.

Progress in the Upper Scinde District.

12. In the Upper Scinde District the embankments of 32 miles were completed, and57 more in progress. No other work was done, nor were any materials prepared. Somedelay had occurred in procuring Staff for the Larkana Division: the Executive Engineerjoined quite at the end of the year, and the line had not even been properly set out.

Observations in the Indus River.

13. But little was done in the Indus Bridge Division, an Executive Engineer wasappointed quite at the close of the year. Some observations of velocities were made, andtwo trial wells were sunk.


Floods in the Reti and Ghotki Divisions.

14. Observations of the floods were resumed in the Reti and Ghotki Divisions, largegaps having been left in the embankments for their passage. The floods were not severeduring this year.

Progress in the Lower Scinde District.

15. In the Lower Scinde District a mere commencement was made, the Executive

Staff having been organized late in the year. 1873-74.

Probability of change from metre to 5' 6" gauge

16. Up to this time all operations had been directed towards the construction of a

line on the metre gauge, but intimation being received that possibly the gauge might beincreased to 5' 6', arrangements were made at all of the works on the line which wouldpermit of this change. The culverts accordingly were left incomplete on one side, and allarrangements at stations which could be affected by the gauge were deferred.

Committee appointed to report on method of bridging Sutlej.

17. During this year the Government appointed a Committee of experiencedEngineers to consider the conditions of the Sutlej River, and the best method of crossingit. Serious injury to the bridge over this river on the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railwayline near Phillour called for special care in determining the features of the bridge to beerected at Bahawalpur. The Committee submitted a report, and the Governmentdecided on the following general features for the bridge:-

General features of Sutlej Bridge determined.

18. The bridge to consist of 16 spans of 264 feet between centres, 250 feet in the clear.The piers and abutments to be founded each on three cylinders of brick-work 18 feet 9inches diameter, arranged in line, sunk to a depth of 100 feet below the dry weatherwater level. Each foundation was to be protected by a mass of about 60,000 cubic feet of

loose rubble stone thrown in around it, and the abutments were to be protected eachwith about 2i lakhs cubic feet of stone.

Progress made during 1878-74.

19. The following progress was made in the works during the year 1873-74:-



20. In the Mooltan District 15 miles of embankment were thrown up, making 170 milescompleted ; 43 miles of ballast material were prepared, making 83 miles to date, and 332culverts and 152 lineal feet of flood openings were built during the year,comprehending about 5 lakhs of cubic feet of masonry, for about a half of which thebricks were manufactured. This made the bridging of the District nearly complete,excepting that as noted above, these works were all broken off on one side 'on accountof the uncertainty about the gauge. Four more stations were built during this year,completing all required except that at Mooltan, which was left in abeyance, pending

settlement of the question of a junction with the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway line.The line works of this District were thus in a forward state, and almost ready for thereception of the permanent way.

Arrangements made at the Sutlej Bridge.

21. At the Sutlej Bridge 60 lakhs more bricks were manufactured, and othermaterials procured in preparation for a commencement of work. A workshop was builtand supplied with machine tools. A commencement was made on the ironwork for wellcurbs, and other arrangements put forward with a view to an actual commencementbeing made immediately after the inundations of 1874-75.

River Conservancy Division formed.

22. During this year an Executive Division was formed for the express purpose ofcontrolling the river, and endeavoring to restrain its oscillations within fixed limits. Theoperations undertaken consisted of laying in floating obstacles secured at the top toempty casks, as buoys, and anchored below, and formed sometimes, of. coarse netting,sometimes of single ropes, with brushwood attached and other such expedients, which,by checking the current, should cause a deposit of silt and turn the course of the stream.

Some success attended these operations, and the fair weather stream was driven into afairly direct channel, to which it was hoped the first freshes might take, and a good leadbe thus given to the stream when it came down in flood. Nature favoring, these hopeswere realized—the violent oscillation of the stream near the colony of Adamwahan,which had caused much damage during the previous two years, was interrupted, andthe river assumed a fairly direct course. The floods, however, were not severe.

Work executed on main line of Sutlej Division.

23. The work executed in the 13 miles of line attached to this Division consisted ofone mile of embankment, making 11 completed. The two miles of heavy embankmentnear the bridge were held in reserve as a reservoir for labour during the construction of


the bridge, for which purpose the minor bridges and culverts near the river were alsodeferred. Twelve culverts were completed.

Progress on the Upper Scinde District.

24. In the Upper Scinde District 69 miles of embankment were thrown up, making141 miles completed, 30 miles of ballast were collected, and the buildings of 6 stations,making 10 completed out of 15 required. A good quantity of bricks were manufacturedand stone quarried at Rohri. A contract for manufacture of bricks was also entered intowith a well known firm (Collins and Petman) who were to commence operations atChristmas 1873. The brickworks on this part of the line were deferred, pending a final

decision on the amount of opening to be left for the Indus floods, and also to secure asufficient supply of material in hand before gangs of skilled labourers should becollected from distant places and set to work.

Proposed tramway in the Ghotki Division.

25. A proposal was made for laying a tramway from the quarries at Rohri for 24miles along the Ghotki Division, to carry out stone for the bridges: this was afterwardsaccepted.

Floods in the Ghotki Division.

26. The floods in the Reti and Ghotki Divisions were again systematically watchedby means of the well defined gaps left in the embankments for their passage. They werenot severe this year.

High price of iron.

27. A revision of the project for bridging this part of the line was made, as the high

price of iron made it desirable to substitute arched for flat girder openings.

Observations in the Indus.

28. In the Indus at Sukkur systematic observations of the currents and bed of the riverwere continued, and were reduced to a form for submission to Government, before

whom several proposals. for bridging the river were placed.

Proposal for steam ferry.

29. A scheme was also submitted for establishing a steam ferry with approaches, tobe used until the completion of the bridge.


Arrangements at Sukkur.

30. At Sukkur a wharf was built and sheers set up for landing heavy weights, and a

store yard with commodious godowns was erected.

Proposed diversion of line to Shikarpor.

31. A petition was presented by the inhabitants of Shikarpur to have the main linecarried past their town instead of on the alignment approved. All operations betweenSukkur and Nawa Dera (20 miles) had to be placed in abeyance in consequence. After

the close of the year the Government decided to adhere to the original alignment.


32. In the Lower Scinde District 150 miles of embankment were completed duringthe year, and a good commencement was made on the heavy rock cuttings at Sehwan,

the completion of which, forming the key to the opening of this section of the line, couldhardly be expected in less than three working seasons, or owing to the uncertain natureof the stuff to be met with in the deep cuttings, perhaps a longer time.

Special progress near Kotri.

33. The chief share of work in this District was done in the last 50 miles leading intoKotri, as it was thought this length might be opened out rapidly in ex-tension of theScinde line. On this length the bank was completed. Ballast was collected for 30 miles,the buildings of 4 stations were completed, and a large quantity of stone was brought tosite for the bridges.

Arrangements with Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway Delhi Railway Company forcarrying English material.

34. As all material procured in England for the line would be landed at Karachi, andthe Scinde, Punjab and had possession Company by their Flotilla of the only high way,the Indus river, a contract was made with that Company for the carriage and delivery atcertain places on the river of all such materials.

River depots to be connected with the line by tram ways.

35. Where these depots were not situated on the river, it was necessary to connect themwith the line, and permission was received to do this by tramways, over whichlocomotive engines should work. Accordingly a line was laid on the metre gauge fromHamdi to Shujabad, a distance of 8 miles, and the track was continued on the main line

5 miles towards Adamwahan with the intention, afterwards fulfilled, of completing the


connection with that place; this being the line over which the very important business ofsupplying the Sutlej Bridge with rubble stone for protective purposes, and with otherimportant supplies, would be carried. Three tank locomotive engines metre gauge and10 wagons were received and erected at Hamdi for work on this line, and the

manufacture of 150 other wagons was commenced at Adamwahan.

Hamdi Depot.

36. A large timber depot was also established at Hamdi, and steam sawingmachinery set up for the purpose chiefly of preparing sleepers.

Stores received from England.

37. 140 miles of rails and fittings (36 lb. and 40 lb.) were received at Karachi, and anumber of wheels and axles, bearing springs and axle boxes for wagons, but no ironfittings for their frames and bodies. A large quantity of machinery and plant had alsobeen received from England.

1874-75.

Decision to construct the Indus Valley State Railway on the 5' 6" gauge.

38. This year commenced with the communication by Government of its finaldecision that the Indus Valley State on the 5' 6" gauge.Railway should be constructedand in July 1874 the Director of State Railways paid a visit to Mooltan to discuss theprospects of the work with the Engineer-in-Chief. The following general conclusionswere then recorded:-

Scheme for prosecuting the works resulting from visit of Director of State Railways.

39. Seeing that the heavy works on the Sutlej Bridge and in crossing the spills of theIndus in the Ghotki Division would certainly prevent the line being opened through toSukkur for at least three years, there was no immediate need for pushing on the lightworks, extending over some 150 miles between the Sutlej River and Sukkur, whichmight readily be completed in a single season. Between Sukkur and Kotri on the other

hand the only heavy work was the Laki cutting near Sehwan, and it appeared probablethat with a full supply of funds this lower section might be completed within two years.There was no prospect of obtaining such a supply of money as would permit of workbeing pushed along the whole line, and the obviously reasonable conclusion was to stopwork altogether on the part of the line indicated on the section above Sukkur, and tospend more freely on the works south of that place, with a view to an early opening ofthe line from Kotri up to Sukkur.


Closing of works on 160 miles south of Bahawalpur.

40. The works in the Bahawalpur and Khanpur Divisions and in part of the RetiDivision were thereupon closed entirely, and the whole Executive Staff removed,excepting one officer, who was left in charge of the material and other property on theline, at the same time the office of Superintending Engineer of the Mooltan District wasplaced in abeyance, the duties of Superintending Engineer of the reduced District beingundertaken by the Engineer-in-Chief himself. The arrangement, however, was not longcontinued, and a Superintending Engineer was again appointed early in 1875-76. Thework thrown on the Engineer-in-Chief's office by the commencement of operations at

the Sutlej Bridge was found to be more heavy than the office could convenientlyundertake.

New estimates for 5' 6" gauge.

41. The new estimates for the 5' 6" gauge were at once put in hand, but there were

many difficulties and delays owing principally to the employment of the Staff on works,and at last the Engineer-in-Chief was obliged to take the compilation into his ownhands. The work was finally completed, and the estimate submitted to Government inNovember 1875. This estimate is generally distinguished as Colonel Peile's estimate, itsgeneral abstract was as follows :—

Rs.

Preliminary Expenses, 6,18,000Land, 1,90,974Construction of Line, 2,55,05,492Ballast and Permanent Way, 1,75,04,612Stations and Buildings, 38,41,980Electric Telegraph, 4,55,400Rolling Stock, 35,10,000Maintenance, 1,55,000

Establishment, 60,00,000Contingencies, 4,00,000

Grand Total Rs., 5,96,12,858

Superintendent of Works appointed to Indus Bridge.

42. In November 1874 an officer with the rank of Superintendent of Works wasspecially appointed to the charge of the Indus Bridge Division. It was understood thathe should collect all data himself, and then proceed to draw up a project for a bridgeover the Indus, in direct communication with the Consulting Engineer for State Railway


Inundations of 1874-75. Indus spills, left bank.

43. The spills of the left bank of the Indus during this year were severe, and

remained over the land till a late date, but they did no damage beyond retarding theworks in the Upper Scinde District.

Indus spills, right bank - Railway submerged from Bhan to Sehwan.

44. The Kusmore spill over the right bank, the features of which are moreparticularly described later on under the report of the year 1876-77 was also severe. It

happened, moreover, that in its passage towards the Manchur lake, the volume of theinundation was much augmented by a heavy fall of rain in the Cutchee hills, and thatlater on when the water had reached and filled the Manchur lake, another heavy fall ofrain occurred in that locality. These combined floods and rain falls caused the Aral riverand other outlets of the Manchur lake to overflow their banks—the waters united in onecontinuous flood and topped the railway embankment from Bhan to Sehwan. Thestation building at Sehwan was submerged to such a depth that a entering by one door

passed out through another.

Proposals made in reference to these floods

45. In reporting upon this flood to Government, the Engineer-in-Chief representedthat the simultaneous recurrence of these three contributaries to this excessive and

unprecedented flood was very improbable, and that while he recommended the raisingof the embankment, he did not think it would be desirable then to incur the heavyexpense of providing so much extra waterway through the line as would suffice to passa flood of this extent. Moreover, the project for this part of the line had been mainlybased on the assurance that the Kusmore bund would be solidly reconstructed andadequately maintained, conditions which, if properly fulfilled, should certainly sufficeto avert any serious danger.

Additions to waterway near Sehwan made in subsequent year.

In subsequent years, however, the apparently periodical access to the Kusmore floodsand the repeated failure of the bund forced on the conclusion that the Railway must bemade self-dependent, and very large additions were made and projected to the floodopenings near Sehwan. The station itself was moved to a high site beyond the reach of

any inundation.

Fall in price of iron and revision of designs.

46. A great fall in the price of iron led to a return from arches to flat topped girderopenings for the flood viaducts in the Upper Scinde District; at the same time the recent


high floods dictated the necessity of a general raising of the formation level through theflooded country. The bridging had not been commenced, so these changes involvedonly alterations of design and estimates.

47. The progress of the works in 1874-75 was as follows:—


48. In the Mooltan District, as above stated, a length of about 150 miles of line southof Bahawalpur was temporarily placed in abeyance.

Shujabad Division.

49. In the Shujabad Division, between Mooltan and Adamwahan on the Sutlej River,30 lakhs cubic feet of earth-work were executed in widening out the bank for theincreased gauge, and 75,000 cubic feet of brickwork in culverts. Of the 176 culverts inthe Division, 102 were completed for the 5' 6' gauge, and the remainder partially built

for the metre gauge, and left incomplete on one side, as above described.

Tramway from Hamdi to Adamwahan,

50. The principal operation of the year on this part of the line, however, was thecompletion of the 63 miles of metre gauge tramway connecting the Hamdi Depot with

the Sutlej Bridge at Adamwahan, and the carriage over it of large quantities of stores forthe bridge. Five tank metre gauge locomotives and 70 wagons, to which daily additionswere being made, were at work on the line.

Progress at the Sutlej Bridge.

51. At the Stitlej Bridge the early part of the year was devoted to clearing the way for

a commencement of work, to the provision of material and plant, and also to theframing of the timber curbs for the wells with the manufacture of their ironwork.

Limitation of work for the season.

52. It was decided to confine this first season's work to six foundations, three on

either side of the river, comprising 18 wells; and to securing the abutment span on eachside so as to fix the permanent limits within which the river's course must of necessitythenceforth be restrained.


Description of abutments designed.

53. In the design for the bridge, the abutments consisted simply of an ordinary pier

surrounded by a heavy mass of loose stone, which was to be extended as far as andconnected with the stone protection of the first pier in the bed of the river in such amanner as to entirely obstruct the intervening span below the level of low water. To aidthis obstruction a row of square masonry blocks was to be sunk to as great a depth aspossible extending from pier to pier along the centre of the span. It was thought that thetwo piers with their mass of stone protection, extending to a length of about 330 feet,would form an obstacle which could not readily be outflanked, and that the river wouldbe forced to confine itself to the 14 spans of the bridge left free for its passage.

Method of distinguishing the piers by letters and wells by numbers.

54. The 17 piers were distinguished by the letters of the alphabet commencing with'A', the abutment on the Adamwahan or right bank, and terminating with 'R', theabutment at the Bahawalpur or left bank end. The wells were numbered consecutively

from 1 to 51, commencing with the up-stream well of each foundation thus—

A. B. C. P. Q. R.1 4 7 43 46 492 5 8 44 47 503 6 9 45 48 51

Situation of A abutment - Position of 'R' abutment.

55. Abutment 'A' was set just within the line of the comparatively solid high bankwhich formed that side of the river, and the top of which was just below the level of thehighest recorded flood. Abutment 'R' was so to say en lair; the length of the bridge was

4,224 feet, the width of the river about two-and-a-half miles, and a long stretch of riverbed, to be crossed by a high embankment, intervened between the bridge head and the

high bank at Bahawalpur, which, on that side, formed the limit of the river'soscillations.

First curb pitched 2nd November, and progress made in well sinking.

56. The first curb was pitched on the 2nd November, and the last of the 18 on the

25th February. The depths reached by the several wells as recorded on the 31st March1875 was as follows:—


Abutment spans.

The sinking of the blocks in the abutment spans had also progressed, and theexcavations for the deposition of the protective stone were fairly forward.

Temporary timber bridge.

57. The whole of the stock of building material had been prepared on theAdamwahan bank, where alone suitable ground for storage purposes could be found,and to that side also were brought all the plant and miscellaneous materials required forthe work, notably the rubble stone for protective purposes. For the work commenced onthe Bahawalpur side, everything had to be transported across the river, and for thispurpose it was necessary to construct and maintain, during the working season, a

temporary timber bridge of 1,000 feet in length, over which the loaded trains might run.This bridge was removed during the inundations, and restored for each workingseason. It was a subsidiary arrangement, without which the work could not have beensuccessfully carried to completion, but one which caused a vast amount of anxiety andtrouble.

Depth

reached.REMARKS

A 1 24.31

2 38.15

3 22.70

B 4 34.40

5 56.27

6 31.14

C 7 55.79

8 23.85

9 34.95

P 43 29.84

44 25.91

45 32.06

Q 46 29.36

47 26.65

48 29.60

R 49 23.32

50 32.58

51 22.81

Foundation and wells.

Tenacious clay, silt at 30 feet.

Loose sandy silt. No obstruction.

Brushwood under number 9, and

afterwards met with by number 8, when it

The whole of the wells on this side of the

river entered a stratum of tenacious clayey

silt at a depth of 26 feet. The stratum

believed to be 14 feet thick.


Inferior condition of plant received in transfer - Workshop operations.

58. A large quantity of plant had been received in transfer from the Punjab Northern

State. Railway, set free by the completion of the large bridges on that line, but the steammachinery especially was so worn and defective as to cause much trouble anddisappointment. The workshops executed a large amount of work. The iron fittings for18 curbs, weighing for each curb 5.2 tons, were made up; 60 metre gauge ballast wagonswere built, the ironwork for 20 having been manufactured in the shops. The straps andbolts for the temporary timber bridge formed a heavy job, and there was an increasingdemand for miscellaneous articles and for repairs, all of which had to be satisfied on thespot.

Behavior of the river during the season.

59. The river during this season behaved very well, the stream remained amenableto the gentle measures of control described above, and was maintained in a fairlystraight course for 6 or 7 miles, passing nearly through the centre of the bridge limits.

This favorable state of things, however, was not to last as will be noted later on.

Progress in the Upper Scinde District - Reti Division.

60. The progress made in the Upper Scinde District in masonry works was confined

principally to the works in the Reti Division, where 50,000 cubic feet of concrete, and96,000 cubic feet of brickwork were executed in 30 culverts, and six of the larger bridgesfor the passage of floods, aggregating 50 arched openings of 10 feet span, and 13 girderopenings of 40 feet span, were commenced. Seventy-two lakhs of cubic feet ofearthwork were executed in this Division in widening the bank for the 5' 6" gauge,1921akhs of cubic feet in the Ghotki, and 430 lakhs cubic feet in the Larkana Division.

Ghotki Division.

61. In the Ghotki Division 100 lakhs of bricks were manufactured by the contractors,and 3 lakhs cubic feet of stone were prepared at the Rohri quarries, but the actualcommencement of work was deferred pending only final instructions on a report on therecent floods, and on the change of design and alteration of formation level referred toabove.

Work retarded in the Larkana Division.

62. In the Larkana Division work was retarded first by the proposal to divert the lineto Shikarpur referred to above, which was not disposed of until July, and afterwards bya remonstrance from the Officers of the Irrigation Department, who insisted that the


alignment along the bank of the Canal must be changed, and that a wider space thanhad been previously allowed must be left between the Railway and the Canal. The newlocation of this portion, forming about one-third of the Larkana Division, was notcompleted until quite the close of the year. Fifty-five lakhs of bricks for bridge building

were manufactured in this Division.Progress in the Lower Sdnde Distriet.

63. In the Lower Scinde District the available funds were principally devoted to theLaki cutting, and to the works in the 50 miles north of Kotri forming the Kotri Division.The remainder of this District, comprising the Mehur and major part of the SehwanDivisions, had to be starved.

Mehur Division.

64. In the Mehur Division the embankments for the 5' 6" gauge were nearlycomplete, and about 60 lakhs of bricks were manufactured. The station buildings werealso completed as residences for the Staff.

Sehwan Division.

65. In the Sehwan Division the ordinary embankments were nearly completed, thestation buildings were erected, the manufacture of bricks for bridge building was nearlycompleted, and ballast for 13 miles of line were collected.

Laki cuttings.

66. The rock cutting in the 8 miles of line skirting the Sehwan hills, known as theLaki cuttings, had been much retarded, first by the uncertainty about the gauge, andlater on by a new location having to be fixed to suit the 5' 6" gauge. In about a half of thecutting the location was uniform for both gauges, and in this part, where the line is

carried on a bench in the face of the cliff, and the work consisted entirely of side cutting,the work had been completed as far as metre gauge dimensions demanded. In the otherhalf, the location depended on the admissible limit of curvature. On this portion a merecommencement was made during the year.

Kotri Division.

67. In the Kotri Division 115 lakhs cubic feet of earthwork were executed inembankments of the line, and 12 lakhs cubic feet in bunds thrown up to control water-courses—also 47 lakhs of cubic feet of cutting through rock and rocky soil. Ballast wascollected for 29 miles of line, and 184,000 cubic feet of masonry were executed in theminor, and 115,300 cubic feet in the major, bridges, representing 117 culverts and smallbridges out of 168 required, and 7 large bridges out of 24.


The state of this Division at the close of the year may be succinctly stated thus—Theembankments and cuttings complete, ballast at site for 42 miles, culverts and smallbridges nearly approaching completion, the larger bridges well in hand.

Deliveries of English material.

68. The delivery of creosoted sleepers and iron 60 lb. permanent way for 100 miles ofline had just commenced at the close of the year.

1875-76.

Uncertainty about funds.

69. Some uncertainty existed in the early part of the year in regard to the extent towhich funds could be supplied. The Indian grant was first fixed at 52 lakhs rupees, but

in January 1876 it was increased to 67 lakhs. The programme of works for the seasonwas not in consequence definitely arranged until September, and there was someretardation of the works.

Extraordinary floods and damages.

70. The year was marked by the occurrence of extraordinary floods in the Sutlej andChenab rivers, whilst the inundations of the Indus above and below Sukkur were bothlater and less extensive than usual. Serious damage was done to the line belowBahawalpur by the first-named floods. About 45 miles of line between Channi Gote atthe 100th mile and the Noorwah Canal were completely wrecked, and it became evidentthat this part of the line would have to be diverted and realigned along thecomparatively high desert land to the eastward, where it would be beyond the reach offloods. Definite proposals to this effect were submitted to Government, but were not

disposed of until November 1876, when the work was carried out.

Damages at Adamwahan.

71. Heavy damage to stores was suffered at Adamwahan: the colony was flooded,the dwelling houses, store houses and godowns were submerged, and the loss in

perishable material was serious. To prevent the recurrence of such disaster, a solidembankment was thrown up around the colony.


Severe sickness followed the inundation.

72. A very severe type of fever became prevalent after the floods of this season,

especially at the Sutlej Bridge. All the officers of the Engineer and Subordinate Staff atAdamwahan were subject to repeated attacks, until sometimes there was not one fit forduty. The mortality was very great among the workpeople, notwithstanding everyeffort made to mitigate and remedy the evil. Towards the end of December the severityof the sickness abated.

Progress made in works in 1875-76.

73. The quantity of work done in each Division during the year 1875-76 is exhibitedin the gross in the Tabular Statement, and is more fully narrated below:-

Track changed from metre to 5' 6" gauge.

74. In the Shujabad Division, the culverts, bridges, platform walls, tank towers andother brick works were all completed. Forty miles of the metre gauge track were takenup, and the 5' 6" gauge track substituted, the remaining 21 miles of line connecting

Shujabad, 43.25 … … 0.86 … 46½ …

Sutlej Bridge, 12.00 2200 340 5.78 … … 60

Bahawalpur, 58.00 … … 1.35 4.3 … 5

Khanpur, … … … … 8.0 … 18

Reti, 101.00 … 4400 9.58 … … 135

Ghotki, 551.25 … 4000 3.00 6.0 … 190

Indus Bridge, … … … … … … …

Larkana, 213.00 … 260 0.72 … … 70

Mehur, 98.00 … … 0.06 3.0 … …

Sehwan, 343.00 … … 2.76 … … 40

Kotri, 50.50 … … 6.81 9.0 48.00 …

Total, 1470.00 2200 9000 30.92 30.3 46½ 518

Tabular Abstract of quantities of principal works done during 1875-76.

F OUN D A TION

C YLIN D ER LIN EA L

F EET

S UN K.

D iv is io n .


Mooltan and Hamdi Depot with Adamwahan were also converted in Aprilimmediately after the close of the year. This change bringing Adamwahan into directrailway communication with Calcutta and Bombay without break of gauge was ofinfinite advantage to the works at the Sutlej Bridge.

Valuable services performed by the metre gauge tramway - Provision of 5' 6" gaugeRolling Stock.

75. The value of the metre gauge line to the works, however, must not beunderrated. During the year 50,000 tons of stone for the bridge, 4,600 tons of ironpermanent way material, 6,000 tons of sleepers, 15,000 tons of miscellaneous material,and 20,000 tons of ballast were carried over it. The gross ton mileage of the year

amounted to 3,500,000 ton miles, and the cost of haulage to 3.75 pies per ton mile for allexpenses except wear and tear of line and rolling stock. Five tank metre gaugelocomotive engines and 130 wagons were employed, which were transferred towardsthe end of the year to the Ghotki Division tramway. Three ballast tank and one mailtank 5' 6" gauge locomotive engines were purchased from the East Indian Railway, andsome ballast wagons were hired from the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway.

76. But little of the line in this Division was ballasted.

Progress at the Sutlej Bridge - Condition of foundation wells on approach ofinundation season.

77. At the Sutlej Bridge, as above described, foundation wells had been commenced;the depths they had reached on the 31st March have been exhibited. Considerablefurther progress was made in the sinking, and at the approach of the inundation thefollowing condition of things existed. The wells of abutment were resting on a stratumof hard clayey silt at a depth of 30 feet, and they were so well protected by their positionin the solid high bank and by the mass of stone in the shore span, that there was noroom for anxiety on their account. The wells of B and C had reached depths varyingfrom 60 to 70 feet and were fairly safe. Those of P, Q, and R, however, were from their

situation subject to the full violence of the floods, and they had only entered a clayeystratum found at a depth of 30 feet without penetrating to such an extent as wouldrender them secure. 60,000 cubic feet of loose stone were placed around each of thefoundations C, P, Q, and R, and further protection was afforded to A, B, Q, and R, bythe completion of the sunken blocks in the abutment spans, and by the provision ofabout a third of the large quantity of stone with which those spans and the abutmentpiers had to be filled and surrounded.

78. The full force of floods, which were remarkably violent, was directed on P; thevolume of the river passing between P and Q, and scouring out a channel 40 feet deepbelow flood level, so far as could be ascertained from soundings taken in the rapid


stream. The wells of P had barely reached this depth, and considerable anxiety was feltfor their safety. Fortunately material was at hand, and 60,000 cubic feet more stone wasadded around the wells of P, as the supply which had been first applied, subsided. Thebridge works did not suffer the slightest injury, nor were the cylinders in the least

disturbed. Altogether 7,85,000 cubic feet of stone were placed around the foundationsduring the season.

Limitation of succeeding season's work to seven more foundations.

79. When the floods subsided, the river channel maintained its position between P andQ, And a high sand bank formed on the Adamwahan side, on which it would have been

easy during the succeeding season, to have pitched the whole of the wells of the 11foundations remaining. A close inquiry having, however, been instituted into the stateof the plant, most of which had seen long service on other works, and into the prospectof obtaining sufficient rails for weighting the wells, it was pronounced undesirable toundertake so much, and the work of the season was limited to seven new foundationsD, E, F, G, H, I, and K. A very good start was made in October, and notwithstanding theterrible sickness which prevailed for some time, a large amount of work was done. The

following Table, taken from the Annual Reports, exhibits exactly the progress in wellsinking made during the year, and the condition of each foundation on the 31st March1876 :—


1874-73 1875-76 Total.

1

24.31 51.23 75.54

In abeyance till

completion of H, I,

and K.

H

The wells: are all 18 feet 9

inches in diameter, and

have 5 feet thickness of

steining.

2 38.15 61.85 100.00 Hearted.

3 22.70 77.30 100.00 Hearted.

4 34.40 65.60 100.00 Hearted.

5 56.27 43.73 100.00 Hearted.

6 31.14 68.86 100.00 Hearted.

7 55.79 44.21 100.00 Hearted.

8 23.85 76.15 100.00 Hearted.

9 34.95 65.05 100.00 Hearted.

10 75.44 75.44

11 52.10 52.10

12 69.40 69.40

13 78.09 78.09

14 57.54 57.54

15 80.05 80.05

16 69.50 69.50

17 63.41 63.41

18 68.13 68.13

19 73.39 73.39

20 60.17 60.17

21 78.88 78.88

22 62.16 62.16

23 30.69 30.69

24 36.52 36.52

25 61.96 61.96

26 28.86 28.86

27 40.81 40.81

28 65.39 65.39

29 38.46 38.46

30 43.25 43.25

43 20.84 38.89 68.73

44 25.91 41.50 67.41

45 32.06 30.57 62.63

46 29.36 70.64 100.00

47 29.65 47.01 73.66

48 29.60 70.40 100.00

49 23.32 43.48 66.80

50 32.58 29.45 62.03

51 22.81 42.91 65.72

573.69 2,202.53 2,772.22

The 9 wells of P, Q,

and R commenced last

season, met with a clay

straturn at 30 feet, they

have been driven

through it with

difficulty, and are now

progressing well.

Tabular Statement.

Remarks on the wells.Remarks on the

foundations.

Superstructure

commenced

Connecting block

masonry to be

commenced

There is a good reason to

expect that all the wells of

these four foundations D

to G will reach their full

depth before the floods of

this season

The whole of the wells of

these foundations will

reach a depth of 75 feet

before the floods of the

season

Foundations L, M N, O. Wells 31 to 42 inclusive not commenced.

The 9 wells will all be sunk

to their full depth before

the floods of this season,

the two of Q, which are

down, have reached a very

hard blue clay.

Wel

ls.

Foundations

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

K

The wells of D. E, F,

and G, have met only

with sand or light silt.

The outer wells of

each

foundation are in

advance of the centre

wells.

The wells of H, I, and

K met with clay at a

depth of 30 feet. The

upstream well of each

foundation has

penetrated the

stratum.

DEPTHS ATTAINED.


Failure of the training works.

80. A contract had been entered into with two firms in England for theprovisions of the ironwork in the girders for this bridge.

81. The training works, which were to all appearance successful in the previousseason, failed before the violent floods of August 1875, and it was found that no reliancecould be placed on the temporary expedients hitherto tried. A proposal was submittedby the Engineer-in-Chief to construct long groynes of loose stone in direct connectionwith the bridge abutments, as had been done at some of the bridges on the Scinde,Punjab and Delhi Ralway.

Progress in the Bahawalpur Division.

82. In the Bahawalpur Division the works, as stated, had been in abeyance; theywere resumed in November of this year, but only on the part of the line north of ChanniGote; a proposal for diverting the line below that place having been submitted. Thisportion of the line was made ready for the reception of the permanent way by thecompletion of the earthworks, bridges, station platforms and wells. A large quantity of

ballast, prepared from time to time in previous years, was ready along this part of theline.

Construction of Makan Bela Branch.

83. The construction of a branch line, 14 miles long, to connect Channi Gote with the

Chenab River was undertaken for the transport of material carried by the Scinde,Punjab and Delhi Flotilla. It was thought possible that in the dry season this branchmight also be utilized in connection with the goods traffic of the Scinde, Punjab andDelhi Railway and Flotilla, and a proposal to this effect was submitted and afterwardsacted on. The Flotilla was to work up to Makan Bela, and the goods transferred at thatghat to the wagons were to be carried over the Indus Valley rails to Mooltan, thetemporary wooden bridge serving for the passage of the Sutlej River.

Lineal feet sunk is end of 1874.75, .. .. .. .. .. .. 573.69

Lineal feet sunk is end of 1875.76, .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,202.53

.. .. .. .. .. .. 2,776.22

Cubic Feet

Brickwork to end of 1874-75, .. .. .. .. .. .. 220,817.35

Brickwork to end of 1875-76, .. .. .. .. .. .. 537,935.45

.. .. .. .. .. .. 758,752.80Total brickwork up to date,

Abstract.

Total feet to date,


Work still left in abeyance in the Khanpur Division.

84. Work was not resumed in the Khanpur Division, as the distance to which thediversion on to the desert would be carried was not yet determined, but thispostponement was felt to be of little importance, as the works required were very light,and could easily be finished in a single season.

85. In the Upper Scinde District the progress made in the year was as follows:-

Progress in the Reti Division - Quantity of work executed.

86. In the Reti Division the earthworks were completed ; 100 lakhs cubic feet havingbeen thrown up during the year. Fifty-three of the culverts and minor bridges werecompleted, 16 in progress and approaching completion, and 10 remained untouched.Thirteen of these culverts had been completed, and 17 commenced in the previous year.Of the 23 large bridges in the Division, 17 of which were classed as major bridges, and 6consisting each of five arches of 10 feet span, were among the minor bridges, 5 were

finished, 8 in hand approaching completion, 8 had been commenced recently and wereprogressing favorably, and 2 had not been touched. Six of these bridges had beencommenced before April 1875. The gross quantity of concrete and brick work in bridgesexecuted during the year in this Division amounted to 9,58,000 cubic feet, and at thebridges, founded on wells, 4,400 lineal feet of well sinking were executed. The followingTable, taken from the Annual Report, exhibits the condition of the major bridges in thisDivision at the close of March 1876.


87. In the Ghotki Division the earthworks were complete with the exception of 30lakhs cubic feet of raising required in the Sangi Sub-Division, which were deferred onaccount of the tramway being laid on the bank; 551:25 lakhs of cubic feet were thrownup during the year. Thirteen of the minor bridges in the Division were completed, 9 inhand well advanced, and the materials for 6 at site. Of the 36 major bridges, many ofwhich were large viaducts, 2 were complete, 6 in hand and approaching completion, 9had been recently commenced and were progressing satisfactorily, and 19 had not yet

been touched. In the general estimate of the line, 34 of these bridges only had beenclassed as major bridges, but an alteration of the dimensions of two minor bridges,numbers 2 and 70, brought them under the category of major bridges.

Distinguishing

number of

bridges.

Mileage. Description. Present condition.

7 175.0 16 spans, 10 feet A Excavation just commenced.

10 176.0 16 spans, 10 feet A Untouched.

13 177.0 10 spans, 40 feet AAbout quarter of the well masonry built. Both abutment wells

sunk full depth ; other two pairs half sunk.

19 182.0 12 spans, 10 feet A The inverts are being turned.

46 188.0 25 spans, 10 feet A Half the arches turned.

47 189.0 6 spans, 40 feet A Finished.

68 204.0 10 spans, 40 feet AWell masonry complete, sinking very nearly finished. North

abutment and two piers built.

69 211.0 10 spans, 10 feet A Half the well masonry complete; four pairs of wells half sank.

70 212.0 10 spans, 10 feet A Complete to springing.

71 212.0 1 spans, 40 feet A Foundation blocks just completed.

76 214.0 5 spans, 40 feet A Curbs being pitched.

78 214.0 9 spans, 40 feet AWell masonry complete. Abutments end three piers built, one

more pair of wells sunk, the other four pairs half sunk.

79 215.0 13 spans, 40 feet AAbutments and two piers built, another pair of wells sunk, all

the other wells are nearly down to their full depth.

84 216.0 10 spans, 10 feet A Finished.

86 217.0 1 spans, 40 feet A One pair of wells sunk ; the other wells three-quarters sunk.

91 219.0 2 spans, 40 feet A Half the well masonry built ; sinking just begun.

93 219'0 3 spans, 40 feet AWell masonry complete. This bridge and number 91 have wells

only 26 feet deep on account of the stiff day soil met with.

Tabular Statement.


Quantity of work executed.

88. The total quantity of concrete and stone and brick masonry executed in this

Division during the year, amounted to three lakhs cubic feet; and 4,000 lineal feet ofwells for foundations were undersunk. The work in this Division did not fairlycommence until January 1876 ; the Narra bridge, number 91, 8 spans of 20 feet arches,with two culverts near it, being all that had been undertaken in the previous season.

89. The following Tabular Statement, taken from the Annual Report, exhibits thestate of the works on the major bridges of this Division at the close of the year:—


M. F.

0 2 222 7 1 span, 40 feetFirst length of staining 15 feet completed for four wells,

two spans o six metre originally proposed.

6 3 224 0 12 span, 40 feetThe well sinking almost completed and superstructure

commenced.

7 4 224 2 11 span, 40 feetSecond length of staining built on all wells and some are

sunk 31 feet below ground.

8 5 224 6 3 span, 40 feet Finished.

10 6 225 1 8 span, 40 feet

Sinking of all the wells in hand, 8 have 80 feet of

steining built, an( nearly all these have been sank 20

feet, the other wells have 20 fee of staining built, and an

average of 15 feet sunk.

11 7 225 4 5 span, 40 feet All the first lengths of staining built and being sunk.

12 8 226 1 8 span, 40 feet First length of staining being built.

13 9 226 4 8 span, 40 feet Not commenced.

14 10 227 0 15 span, 40 feetFirst length of staining built and about three-quarters

sunk.





19 15 230 0 10 span, 40 feetFirst length of steining sank, and part of second in some

wells; in the others the second staining being built.













101 66 261 4 10 span, 40 feet Foundations excavated and material at site.

102 67 261 7 10 span, 40 feet Foundations excavated and material at site.

104 69 262 7 3 span, 40 feet Curbs pitched, originally 10 spans, 10 feet arches.

105 70 263 3 2 span, 40 feet Curbs pitched, originally 10 spans, 10 feet arches.

106 71 263 5 10 span, 40 feet Curbs pitched.

107 72 264 0 5 span, 40 feet Wells sunk to an average depth of 80 feet.



119 84 268 7 10 span, 40 feet Blocks, drop walls and concrete half inch.

127 92 271 0 8 span, 40 feet Finished.

NUMBERING.

Tabular Statement.

MileageDimensions. Present condition.Progress

Section.

General

Estimate.


90. Six lakhs cubic feet of broken stone were collected at Rohri for ballasting the line;it was intended to use this material throughout the Ghotki Division.

Ghotki Division tramway.

91. A metre gauge tramway was being laid for the transport of the large quantity ofmaterial which had to be moved in the Ghotki Division. Twenty miles of main line hadbeen laid on the bank, with deviations, each containing a tressel bridge at the bridgesites. About five miles more were laid in branches to the river at Sukkur and to theseveral quarries at Rohri. The remainder of the main line was being rapidly urged

forward, towards the northern end of the Division. Five metre gauge tank locomotiveengines and 100 ballast wagons were on the line, transferred from the ShujabadDivision, and two more engines with about 60 more wagons were shortly to be broughtdown.

Progress in the Indus Bridge Division.

92. No work was done in the Indus Bridge Division during the year. TheSuperintendent of Works was engaged in direct communication with the ConsultingEngineer for State Railways in elaborating his designs for a bridge, and in August hesubmitted a preliminary report containing definite proposals, which the Engineer-in-Chief for the most part supported, and forwarded to the Government.

Progress in the Larkana Division.

93. Work was commenced in December 1875 on the 20 miles of the Larkana Divisionbelow Sukkur, which had previously been in abeyance. At the close of the year theearthworks were approaching completion, the embankments of the remaining 45 milesof the Division had been already previously completed. A commencement was alsomade in the bridging, as shown in the following Tabular Statement of the major bridges

taken from the Annual Report.


The materials required for the minor bridges were all at site of work.


94. The progress made in the Lower Scinde District was as follows:-

Progress in the Mehur Division.

95. In the Mehur Division the embankments were complete. The bridgeworks had

just been commenced in January, they having been kept in abeyance owing to theuncertainty about funds noted above. There were but 4 major bridges of no great size inthe Division, and the other masonry works consisted of culverts and small bridges forirrigation purposes, which might be completed very rapidly.

Progress in the Sehwan Division

96. In the Sehwan Division the embankments north and south of the Laki cuttingwere complete.

Laki cutting.

In the Laki cutting 178 lakhs of cubic feet of hard gravel and rock had been excavated,but this was only in the top lift, the heavy work of blasting in the deep cuttings andremoving the stuff by trucks run through narrow confined drift ways had still to beencountered. Masonry works had been in abeyance till November.

Distinguishing

number of bridge.Mileage. Description. Present condition.

31 289 25 spans, 40 feet Curbs being pitched and brickwork commenced.

49 298 3 spans, 40 feet First length of all wells being sunk.

50 300 2 spans, 40 feet Well curbs pitched.


52 302 5 spans, 40 feet All wells sunk, average 15 feet.


56 … 2 spans, 40 feet Not commenced.



Tabular Statement.


Sann River bridge.

97. The excavation for foundations of the Sann River bridge, 23 girder spans of 40feet, had been got out, and masonry commenced in them. There were only two otherlarge bridges in the Division, viz., that over the Aral of 4 spans of 12 metres, and thatover the Kara Fitta of ten 6 metre spans; some long culverts had also been constructedunder the heavy embankment in the Laki pass, in which 1,70,000 cubic feet of masonry,and 45,000 cubic feet of concrete had been executed.

Progress the Kotri Division.

98. In the Kotri Division the embankments were complete, and so also were thebridges, with the exception of the in group of five bridges at the Manjho Nai,aggregating 42 spans of 6 metres, and 10 spans of 12 metres. During the year 4,94,000cubic feet of masonry, and 87,000 cubic feet of concrete had been executed. The stationbuildings, platforms, ashpits and signals were all ready. The ballast and permanent way

had been laid on 48 miles ; a temporary diversion of 2j miles length being made aroundthe Manjho Nai bridges. The track was carried into the Kotri terminus of the Scinde,Punjab and Delhi Railway over one of that Company's sidings, and connected withtheir line.

Provision of sleepers - Provision of iron 60 lb. rails.

99. A sufficient number of creosoted pine sleepers for the 226 miles south of Sukkurhad been obtained in England, and were in course of delivery at Karachi. It had beendecided to sleeper the line above Sukkur with deodar, and sufficient sleepers for 220miles had been purchased and manufactured. 280 miles of iron 60 lb. permanent wayhad been received, or were in course of delivery at Karachi.

1876-77.Change in general programme of works - Difficulties, delays, at the Laid cutting.

100. During this year it was found expedient to revise the general programme settled

in July 1874, by which the section of the line below Sukkur was to be first pushed tocompletion. The unforeseen difficulties and delays in the execution of the work at theLaki cuttings, the completion of which formed the key to the opening of the LowerSection, were principally operative in inducing this change.


Difficulty of communication between Mooltan and Reti and Ghaotki.

The great difficulty of communication between Mooltan and the Reti and GhotkiDivisions, which prevented the Engineer-in-Chief from affording to that part of the linemuch of his personal attention, made it very desirable to push the track already laid toChanni Gote (100 miles) as far further south as possible, and lastly there was a greatadvantage to be gained in the transport of material, specially that for the Sutlej bridge, ifthe line could be pushed as far as Sarhad in the Ghotki Division, and communication bytramway be established with Goble, a ghat on the river about a day's steam aboveSukkur, and but three or four miles distance from Sarhad Station, at which the Flotilla

boats could conveniently discharge their cargoes.

Inability of Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway Flotilla to deal with transport ofmaterial.

101. Now that large quantities of permanent way material, bridge girder work andother stores were being poured into Karachi, the inadequacy of the Scinde, Punjab andDelhi Railway Flotilla to deal with the transport became thoroughly apparent, andalthough the Company took largely to conveying the stores on native boats, yet theabsolute necessity of relieving the Flotilla by some means became daily more manifest.The simplest and most practicable method of relief was of course to be found in

shortening the trip of the boats, by pushing forward the Railway track as far as possibleto the southward from Mooltan, if possible even to Sukkur.

Change in programme justified.

102. These considerations fully justified a change in the programme, and from thistime every effort was directed towards the more speedy opening of the Upper Section,

Mooltan to Sukkur.

Excessive floods in Sutlej, Chenab, and Indus Rivers.

103. This year was again distinguished by excessive floods in the Sutlej, Chenab, andIndus Rivers. At Adamwahan the Sutlej rose to 38012 above sea level, being 1.32 feet

higher than that recorded in 1875, and 1.72 feet above the flood height recorded as thehighest when the designs for the bridge were prepared. At Sukkur the Indus reached 15feet 10 inches on the Bukkur gauge, being 5 inches higher than 1875, and 1 foot 5 incheshigher than in 1874, when the height recorded was stated to be unusual.


Violent oscillations of Sutlej River - Danger to embanked left approach.

104. The violent oscillations from which the river Sutlej at Adamwahan had been

comparatively free for two seasons recommenced this year with increased violence; thestream which, during the previous flood season, had been flowing directly on the P, Q,opening in the bridge, on the subsidence of the floods commenced to encroach on theleft bank above the bridge site, and in spite of every effort to drive it back the loopcontinued to force its way to the westward. This process continued with alarmingviolence and pertinacity, when the river rose in flood in August until the deep bayformed had reached a distance of 2,000 feet behind the bridge abutment It, where itsfurther progress was finally arrested. The deep stream, however, continued thus to flow

and scour alongside the embanked approach to the bridge, threatening to force its waythrough. Incalculable mischief would have resulted had the river made a way for itselfbehind this abutment of the bridge. Fortunately with a clear prevision that dangerwould threaten in this manner, the whole of the large reserve of stone collected duringthe previous season, in excess of what was required to be immediately depositedaround the foundations, had been laid down in a continuous stack 2,000 feet in length,and containing 100 cubic feet to the lineal foot along the toe of the embanked approach

to the bridge on the up-stream side. This loose stone fell in as -the river undercut thebank on which it was lying, and by pitching the surface effectually arrested theunderscour. From time to time the defence had to be strengthened by throwing in allthe spare stone available from the left land span and abutment, and even by bringingthe right bank reserves across the river.


Rafts of sleepers and boats were also moored along the bank, with the view of checkingthe surface velocity, but whilst the former were to some extent effective, the boats

proved worse than useless.

Unusual fresh on 12th February.

105. The course of the river remained unchanged until 12th February, when a veryunusual fresh of 3 feet 6 inches came down and resulted in a considerable improvement

by opening for itself a new channel running more directly through the bridge.

Proposal to protect both abutments by long stone embankment adopted.

106. The catastrophe thus narrowly escaped, led to the final adoption of the proposalmade some years previously that the left abutment should be connected with the high

bank of the river by a solid artificial advanced embankment, to be formed principally ofloose stone. At the same time it was resolved to provide a somewhat similar protectionto the right abutment which was obnoxious to such attacks, but in a less degree than theleft abutment.


Condition illustrated by annexed Map.

107. The condition of the river at this time will be more readily under-stood by

inspection of the annexed map, prepared from surveys taken immediately after thefresh of the 12th February.

No damage done to bridge works or colony.

108. No damage whatever was sustained by the bridge-work, and the embankmentthrown up during the previous season sufficed to protect the Adamwahan colony from

an incursion of this flood, although it rose more than a foot higher than that of theprevious year.

Temporary timber bridge destroyed by fresh of 12th February.

109. The fresh of 12th February carried away the temporary bridge, but the

interruption was not of long duration, communication being restored in 10 days.

Embankment constructed by Bahawalpur State - Inundation at Khanpur.

110. During the cold weather 1875-76, the Bahawalpur State had thrown up a solidembankment from the Buktwah on the left bank of the Sutlej, to the Barnswah on the

Chenab, a length of 25 miles, and proposed in the following season to extend it 16 milesfurther. This bund, designed for the protection of the cultivated lands from thedestructive effects of the spills from these rivers, served also partially to prevent arecurrence of the flood, which in the previous year had been so disastrous to the linebelow Channi Gote. The floods, however, passing round the incomplete end of thebund reached Khanpur, where the station plot was again deeply submerged, anddamage done to the buildings. It was in consequence decided to extend the diversioninto the desert further to the southward beyond Khanpur than had been previously

contemplated.

Slight inundation in Reti Division - Destructive inundation at Ghotki.

111. The floods of the Indus in the Reti Division and upper part of the GhotkiDivision were lighter in character than usual, but an exceptionally heavy spill occurred

opposite Ghotki, which breached the bund thrown up around the town for itsprotection. Great damage was done in the town, and the station buildings, submergedto a considerable depth over their floors, were entirely destroyed. Other parts of theGhotki Division, which had hitherto been effectually protected by local embankments,were reached by the floods in this season, proving that dependence must not be placedon such protection. Some increase to the flood openings was made to render the linemore secure in the future.


Spills of the Indus affecting the line below Sukkur - Kusmore flood.

112. The line below Sukkur as far down as Sehwan is subject to floods from spills ofthe Indus. The fist spill occurs at Kusmore, to prevent which, however, a longembankment is maintained by the Irrigation Department. Hitherto this bund had beeninvariably breached on the occurrence of high floods in the river. The inundationpassing by Jacobabad and flowing down through the low land at the foot of the range ofhills, reached the Manchur lake, which forms a sort of regulating reservoir, and finallythe water passed back into the Indus through several depressions or natural canals, theprincipal of which is the Aral river. The next spill over the right bank, in order

descending the river, is known as the Laki flood; this had been of infrequent occurrence,as a system of embankments maintained near Abad on the bank of the Indus hadusually proved sufficient to prevent the spill, the water flowing across would strike theRailway line near Ruk, where an opening provided for it would pass the water, andpermit it to flow off again into the river, but for the intervention of an embankment,known as the Jalli bund, thrown up on the bank of the Indus to prevent incursions ofthe river in this neighborhood. The Laki flood then imprisoned between the Railway

and the Jalli bund being forced down to Allandadani and Nawa Dera, passes the linethrough openings left for it, and joining the Kusmore flood, finds its way finally to theManchur lake. The Jalli bund, not equal to the task assigned to it, had also frequentlybeen breached, the spill water flowing off in the direction just described as that taken bythe Laki flood.

Manchur Lake surcharged.

113. These several spills combined during this year surcharged the Manchur lake, andin flowing back into the Indus greatly enlarged the gaps which had been left in the linefor its passage. The opening designed for the Aral river was accordingly doubled insize, and considerable additions were made to the flood openings in the otherdepressions, the aggregate additions being 555 lineal feet.

Increase to discharge openings from Manchur Lake.

The Manchur discharge of this year was not aggravated as it had been in 1874 by aheavy local rain fall, yet the flood height was not far short of that reached in that year.


Completion of track between Mooltan and Makan Bela - Scinde, Punjab and DelhiRailway goods traffic under taken.

114. During this year Railway communication was established between Mooltan andMakan Bela ghat, and the Indus Valley Railway undertook the transport of goodsbetween those places for the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway Company, the steamFlotilla plying only as far up as Makan Bela. This undertaking, which commenced earlyin the cold season, proved a very serious addition to the duties of the working staff ofthe line, but it was carried through successfully.

Funds and expenditure daring the year.

115. The Budget grant for the year was originally Rs. 66,20,000, but this wasafterwards supplemented by further grants. and the expenditure of the year amountedto nearly 70i lakhs rupees.

Large progress made in the masonry works in1876-77.

116. A very large share of work was executed during the year 1876-77 all along theline. The following statement shows that in the masonry work of bridges 40.63 percent.of the whole quantity pro-vided for in the estimate was executed during the year, thelargest advance being made in the Larkana, Mehur and Sehwan Divisions, where the

works hitherto held in abeyance were of a light character, generally consisting ofnumerous culverts and irrigation ducts:—

117. The progress made generally in the works may be more particularly narrated asfollows:-

Progress in the Mooltan District, Shujabad Division.

118: In the Mooltan District, Shujabad Division, the small balance of earthwork andmasonry remaining incomplete at the close of the previous year was finished. Thesupply of ballast amounted to 10 lakhs of cubic feet only out of 31.68 lakhs cubic feetestimated. The line was partly boxed up with ballast run out from Mooltan. The stationswere completed in machinery, and pointsmens' and gatekeepers' huts built. 185,000sleepers were purchased and sawn out.

Progress in the Suttlej Bridge Division.

119. In the 13 miles of main line attached to the Sutlej Bridge Division, of which theSutlej bridge and its approaches occupied three miles, the earthwork was completed,and the bridges, excepting the Sutlej bridge, were finished. About one-third of therequired ballast was collected, and the permanent way was laid


At the Sutlej Bridge.

120. At the Sutlej bridge, as shewn in the previous year's report, the under-sinking ofa large number of wells was in progress. These wells, with the exception of those in Pfoundation, which had been very intractable, were all driven to a secure depth beforethe advent of the inundation season, the dry weather channel adhering to the left bankhad permitted direct access to all of the foundations, D to K, commenced in the early

part of the season, and they were all securely pitched on the undisturbed sand bank,which extended continuously from A abutment up to the site for N pier.

Difficulties in pitching wells of four remaining foundations - Insufficiency of theplant.

121. The continuance of this good fortune could hardly be expected; as describedabove, the river assumed a very tortuous course, by which the stream was forcedobliquely through the bridge opening, its stream occupying all the sites of thefoundations L to O. The wells of these foundations accordingly had to be pitched insuccession on artificially formed islands of sand, the maintenance of which in such aswiftly running stream was a matter of great difficulty. This difficulty was much

Division.

To

tal

esti

mat

edam

oun

tof

wor

kto

bed

on

e

Don

eo

n3

1st

Mar

ch1

87

6

Pro

por

tion

so

fth

ew

ho

le.

Do

ne

on

31s

tM

arch

18

77.

Wo

rko

fth

ey

ear

187

6-7

7.

Pro

po

rtio

no

fth

isy

ear'

sw

ork

toth

amou

nt

of

estim

ate.

Wo

rkre

mai

nin

gb

ed

one.

Per

cen

tage

of

wo

rkre

mai

nin

g

tobe

do

ne.

Northern Section. lakhs. lakhs. lakhs. lakhs. lakhs.

Shujabad, 2.52 2.31 91.66 2.36 0.05 1.99 0.16 6.35

Sutlej Bridge, 16.75 8.50 50.74 13.50 5.00 29.86 3.25 19.40

Bahawalpur, 3.74 2.79 74.60 3.34 0.55 14.71 0.40 10.69

Khanpur, 9.75 1.25 12.82 5.08 3.83 39.28 4.67 47.90

Reti, 16.33 10.40 63.68 16.00 5.60 34.29 0.33 2.03

Ghotki, 26.17 8.00 30.56 17.50 9.50 36.31 8.67 33.13

Larkana, 9.85 1.04 10.55 7.25 6.21 63.05 2.60 26.40

Mehur, 6.60 0.52 7.88 4.18 3.66 55.45 2.42 36.80

Sehwan, 17.79 1.57 8.82 13.81 12.24 68.80 3.98 22.38

Kotri, 12.45 9.44 75.82 12.35 2.91 23.37 0.10 0.81

Total, 121.95 45.82 37.57 95.37 49.55 40.63 26.58 21.80

Statement of brickwork in Bridges.

Southern Section.


enhanced by the occurrence of the fresh on 12th February adverted to above. Howeverthe perseverance and resource of the Engineers were rewarded by success, the last curbof the bridge was got into place on the 1st February, and the sinking was rapidlyprosecuted. Work was, however, a good deal impeded by the unsatisfactory condition

of the plant, especially of the hoisting engines, many of which were incapable ofcarrying sufficient chain to work to. a depth of 100 feet, and others were not of powersufficient to lift the heavy tools, which latterly it had been found necessary to employ incutting through the hard clay silt—notably a new form of cutting tool invented andperfected by one of the Subordinate officers employed on the works.

State of wells on 81st March 1877.

122. The condition of the undersinking on the 31st March 1877 is shown in thefollowing Table, taken from the Annual Report, from which it will be seen that out ofthe 17 foundations 12 were completed, and the remaining 5 were in a forward state;some of the superstructure of piers also was built.

123. The weights superimposed on the wells during sinking varied much. As a rule

the wells were built up and sunk in successive lengths of 34 feet, or one-third of theirtotal length. Some of the wells which encountered nothing but sand in their descent,and which maintained a perfectly vertical position, ran down unassisted by anyextraneous load; but as a rule it was found necessary to add 200 tons on the first length,400 tons on the second, and 600 tons on the third length. In some instances as much as1,000 tons extra load were added on refractory wells, and even this enormous load wasfound insufficient in the case of the P 44 well to force it through the compact mass ofstone which had been thrown in from time to time for the protection of this foundation.

Quantity of stone used in protecting foundations.

124. The minimum quantity of stone used in this manner up to this date on any onefoundation was 40,000 cubic feet, the maximum quantity 1,10,000 cubic feet. In the

aggregate on the whole of the foundations 16,66,000 cubic feet had been used, besidesthe large quantity thrown in to secure the embankment behind the left abutment.


Heavy cost of the stone - Preparation of brick cubes.

125. This stone was procured at the heavy cost of Rs. 30 per 100 cubic feet, beingbrought from a place called Chuneot on the Chenab, carried in boats about 200 miles tothe Hamdi ghat, and thence transported by Railway over the 43 miles intervening

Wells Wells. Feet. Wells.

A 300 275 2 Nil. 300 800 3 25 Nil. 25 1 25

B 300 300 3 2 300 300 3 24 ... Nil. Nil. 22

C 300 300 3 2 300 300 3 25 ... ... ... 23

D 271 197 ... ... 300 300 3 24 29 103 3 24

E 286 216 ... ... 300 300 3 25 14 84 3 25

F 272 201 ... ... 300 800 3 24 28 99 3 23

G 271 212 ... ... 300 300 3 3 29 88 3 3

H 226 129 ... ... 300 300 3 1 74 171 3 1

I 220 182 ... ... 300 300 1 ... 80 168 1 ...

K 222 147 ... ... 300 300 2 ... 78 153 2 ...

L ... ... ... ... 142 86 ... ... 142 86 ... ...

M ... ... ... ... 205 124 ... ... 205 124 ... ...

N ... ... ... ... 195 157 ... ... 195 157 ... ...

0 ... ... ... ... 230 169 ... ... 230 169 ... ...

P 268 198 ... ... 300 289 ... ... 32 91 ... ...

Q 300 274 ... ... 300 300 3 1 Nil. 26 8 1

R 280 195 ... ... 300 300 3 1 20 105 3 1

Total, 8,516 2,776 8 4 4,672 4,425 33 153 1,156 1,649 25 149

Remarks

Th

ere

sult

ofth

eye

ar's

wor

kh

as

bee

n—

Iat

,th

atth

eb

uil

din

gof

the

we

llsh

as

be

enad

vad

c-

edfr

om.6

6to

.91

5of

the

wh

ole

;2n

d,t

he

sin

kin

gfr

om.5

45

to'8

67

;3

rd,t

he

bu

ild

ing

ofth

e

sup

erst

ruct

ure

so

fsi

xof

the

pie

rs.

Statement of progress on the Sutlej Bridge Works on 31st March 1877.P

ier

Con

cret

ed

and

he

arte

d

BEGINNING OF FINANCIAL YEAR

1876-77.

END OF FINANCIAL YEAR

1876-77.PROGRESS OF THE YEAR.

Bol

t1

foot

Bol

t1

foot

Hea

rte

dN

o.o

fw

ells

Pie

rsu

per

stru

ctu

re

hau

lab

ove

B.L

.

36

9.0

0

Bol

t1

foot

Bol

t1

foot

Con

cret

ed

and

he

arte

d

Pie

rsu

per

stru

ctu

re

bu

ilt

1ft

ab

ove

R.L

.

36

9.0

0

Bu

ilt

Bu

ilt

Su

per

stru

ctu

reb

uilt


between that ghat and the bridge. In substitution for this expensive material, themanufacture of 12 inch cubes of brick was commenced; this material could be producedat about a half of the cost of the stone, but its comparatively low specific gravity ofcourse rendered it less effective, and experience alone could show whether in the long

run the change would prove economical.

Work in the shops.

126. A great deal of work was executed during this year in the shops, the efficiency ofwhich was much increased by the provision of a 25 H.P. Robey's semi-portable engine.In addition to new work, consisting of the manufacture of plate-laying tools for the

whole line, of bolts and ironwork for girder erection for incomplete wagons andcarriages and for the temporary bridge, and of bolts and bond rings for the wells—theshops maintained the bridge plant in working condition, consisting of 26 steam hoists,nearly all old and much worn, 12 portable engines, 2 steam launches, 2 steam fireengines, 9 mortar mills, and 6 Gwynne's pumps. Six broad gauge locomotive engineswere also kept in work, and 2 metre gauge locomotives thoroughly overhauled. At thesame time a Carpenter's shop had been established with steam driven sawing and other

machinery, in which the construction of vehicles was commenced.

Temporary timber bridge.

127. The temporary timber bridge was of course reconstructed this year. It was firsterected and opened in 30 working days, and subsequently, when destroyed by the fresh

of the 12th February, was restored within 10 days. The value of this work may beestimated from the fact that at least 200,000 tons were hauled over it during the workingseason.

Progress in the Bahawalpur Division.

128. In the Bahawalpur Division the work of this year consisted in the completion of

the desert deviation line, and in the laying of the permanent way as far as the 107 mileon the main line, and completion of the branch line from Channi Gote to Makan Bela. Aspeed of one mile a day in plate-laying was finally attained to in this Division. Twenty-seven lakhs of cubic feet, out of a total quantity of 37 lakhs of ballast required, had beencollected. The new stations required on the deviation line were built, and nearly all themachinery required for all of the stations was supplied.

Progress in the Khanpur Division.

129. Orders not having been received from Government on the proposal to extend thedesert deviation southward for some 10 miles beyond Khanpur, referred to above,nothing could be done to this part of the Division. In the other portions, the bridge-


work, which had been in abeyance for two years, was resumed, and about a half of itexecuted. Sixteen lakhs of cubic feet, or about a half of the quantity of ballast required,had been collected previously ; this work was now in abeyance for want of funds. Thenew station buildings required at Firoza and Khanpur, the latter a changing station, had

not been commenced, the other stations had been completed in previous years.Arrangements had been made to deliver permanent way materials for 20 miles of lineby water at Chachar, and thence down the large canals to the Railway line.

Progress in the Upper Scinde District - In the Reti Division.

130. The progress in the Upper Scinde District was as follows:—In the Reti Divisionthe embankments, to which considerable additions of height had been made inconsequence of the floods of recent years, were almost complete. Sixteen out of the 17major bridges, and 74 out of the 80 minor bridges required, were complete, the others inhand and well forward. A total depth of 6,372 lineal feet of undersinking had to beexecuted in the bridge foundations of this Division.

Nearly the whole of the 9½ lakhs of cubic feet of rubble stone required for theprotection of bridge foundations and of embankments had been brought to site, 5 lakhsbeing this year's share of the work. Twenty lakhs of cubic feet of bal-last, out of 31 lakhsrequired, had been collected. This Division was charged with platelaying from Goblaghat, at which the material was delivered to Sarhad, 6 miles; from Sarhad to Mirpur, 8½miles, both within the limits of the Ghotki Division; and of the 49¾ miles of the RetiDivision, 12½ miles had been completed at the close of the year. The rolling stockreceived at Gobla for working over this detached portion consisted of 2 locomotive

engines, 25 low-sided wagons, 20 heavy, and 20 light, trollies.

In the Ghotki Division.

131. The earthworks of the Ghotki Division were very nearly completed. Of the 45major bridges, aggregating 209 spans of 40 feet, 14 were finished as regards masonry,

and 31 were in hand. Girders for 30 spans were about to be delivered at Gobla ghat, theremainder of the girders ordered in England had not arrived. Twenty-nine of the 51minor bridges were complete, and 17 in hand. In the foundations of bridges in thisDivision, a total length of 18,637 lineal feet of undersinking of wells had to be executed;14,200 were done during this year. This work was executed entirely by petty contract, atan average cost of Rs. 9 per foot down ; the Government furnishing Bull's dredgers andnative jhams. Of the 35 lakhs cubic feet of material required for protecting foundationsand embankments, 8½ lakhs of rough stone had been placed in situ, and 11 lakhs more

had been quarried at Rohri. Sixteen-and-a-half lakhs cubic feet of burnt brick materialwere in course of manufacture at several points along the line. Only 7½ lakhs cubic feet,out of the 32 lakhs cubic feet of ballast required, had been collected, this work being


deferred until the completion of the track should permit of material being run out fromthe Rohri hills. The metre gauge tramway was completed and maintained in thisDivision on a length of 48 miles, and during the year an addition was made to therolling stock on it of one tank metre gauge locomotive engine and 58 low-sided wagons,

transferred from the Mooltan District.

In the Indus Bridge Division.

132. In the Indus Bridge Division branches were laid down connecting the main lineon both sides with ghats established at the river side. On the Rohri side a quay wall,2,500 feet long, was also erected, up to which the steam ferry could ply during

inundation.

Designs for the Indus Bridge.

133. The preparation of the designs in detail for the bridge were also prosecuted bythe officer specially appointed to this service. The designs, of which the principal

feature was a great span of 780 feet over the Rohri channel, were near completion at theclose of the year.

In the Larkana Division

134. In the Larkana Division about one-third of the earthwork in embankments still

remained to be completed, 8 major bridges, aggregating 36 spans of 40 feet had beenestimated for, of which one was complete, two very nearly so, and the remainder welladvanced ; the girders for these bridges had not arrived from England. Of the 189 minorbridges, 136 were completed, and 27 in hand. Five lakhs of cubic. feet only, out of 47lakhs cubic feet of ballast required, had been supplied. This work was deferred until thecompletion of the track should permit of stone material being run out from Sukkur.Platelaying had not been commenced.


135. The following progress was made in the Lower Scinde District:—

In the Mehur Division.

In the Mehur Division the earthworks were completed. Of the 175 culverts and minorbridges, 72 were completed, and 86 in various stages of progress; the masonry of the 4major bridges was nearly completed. Seven and one-third lakhs of cubic feet, out of the331 lakhs cubic feet of ballast required, had been collected. It was proposed to ballast 20miles of the southern end of the Division with stone, to be led out from Morluck; burntbrick being used on the northern 30 miles. For the transport of permanent way material


from the river, the construction of a tramway, 3¾ miles in length, was sanctioned fromFattehpur Bander to the Phulji Road Station. Some advance was made in Stationarrangements.

In the Sehwan Division - Laki cuttings.

136. In the Sehwan Division the earthworks were completed. In the Laki cuttingsmany difficulties were encountered, both in the nature of the work itself and fromsickness breaking out among the work people. The date originally stated for the

completion of this work was September 1876. At the close of the year, in March 1877,however, about 40 lakhs cubic feet of rock cutting still remained to be done. About four-fifths of the masonry in minor bridges was completed. Out of 2,970 lineal feet ofwaterway in 20 major bridges, 400 lineal feet were completed, and the rest in progressas regards the masonry; the girders for 59 spans out of 91 spans had been provided, theremainder had not arrived from England. Thirty-five and three-quarter lakhs of cubicfeet, out of 514 lakhs cubic feet of ballast required, had been collected. The plate-laying

was completed to five miles north of the Sann river in extension of the track in the KotriDivision, and a branch three-quarters of a mile long had been run from the Amri Stationto the river for transport of material.

In the Kotri Division.

137. The small quantity of earthwork and of masonry in minor bridges of the KotriDivision remaining at the close of the previous year were completed. The major bridgesalso were completed, but the 6 metre girders required for the Manjho Nai group hadnot arrived from England, and the 2i miles of diversion around these bridges had to bemaintained. The estimated supply of ballast was completed. The plate-laying wasextended to the end of the Division and to the Sann river. The first engine ran out fromKotri to Sann on the 8th August 1876. The stations were completed and fitted with thenecessary machinery.

Engine Depot at Kotri.

138. An engine depot was established at Kotri in connection with which an engineshed was commenced, and a block of quarters of two stories for the LocomotiveForeman was about half built. Two locomotive engines were purchased from the

Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway Company, and a tank engine was hired from theKarachi Harbour works. Seventy-five ballast wagons built in the Scinde, Punjab andDelhi Railway shops were brought into use.


Western Extension Surveys. Ruk towards Dadur.

139. During this year parties were organized to survey for a line of Railway from Ruk

towards Dadur. Before they got into the field, however, a prohibition to proceedbeyond the frontier was received. The strength of the parties was thereupon reduced.Two lines were surveyed, the one from Ruk via Shikarpur and Jacobabad to the frontier,50 miles, and the other taking a more northerly direction from Shikarpur towardsGhurrie Hussan, about 41 miles. The work was recorded, but no action taken on it.

1877-78.Excessive rainfall at Shujabad and LakL

140. During this year two excessive falls of rain occurred over limited areas whichaffected the works of the line. The first to be noted was on the 7th and 8th September inthe neighborhood of Shujabad, where 33 inches were registered in 24 hours. This heavyfall caused a sudden accumulation of flood water, which breached the line in 23 places,

and destroyed most of the buildings at the Shujabad Station. 680 lineal feet of waterwaywere inserted in the line, and the Shujabad buildings restored with burnt brick ; thewalls of original buildings having been entirely of sundried brick. The other fallreferred to occurred on the 3rd and 4th September at the Laki hills, where the rain fell atthe rate of 2 inches per hour for several hours in succession. This was on the wholerather a fortunate occurrence, as it afforded a useful lesson in the nature of the side andcross drainage required in these cuttings. The accumulation of water was so rapid, that

a train of earth wagons standing in one of the cuttings was swept out by the force of thewater, and shot over the embankment beyond the cutting. A complete project fordrainage, subsequently carried out, was prepared, by which all danger from therecurrence of such a heavy fall of rain would, it was believed, be averted.

Floods insignificant.

141. With these exceptions very little rain fell during the year, and the floods whichcame upon the line from river spills were insignificant.

Unusual freshes in the Sutlej during the dry season.

142. After the cessation of the rains and throughout the dry season a succession of

quite unusual freshes occurred in the Sutlej River, which caused great trouble andanxiety on the works of the bridge.

Revision and submission to Government of Colonel Peile's estimate.

143. It has been noted above that in November 1874 a complete estimate for the line(5' 6" gauge) described as Colonel Peile's estimate, had been submitted to the Director of


State Railways. It happened, however, that the submission of the document toGovernment, deferred from time to time from various causes, had not been effected upto the time now under review. In the interim various unforeseen extensions of theworks, such as the desert deviation below Bahawalpur and additions to flood openings,

had been undertaken, and the estimate no longer represented truly the total probableexpenditure on the line. As, however, the document in itself was complete, theGovernment consented to accept it, quantum valeat, a Supplementary Estimate being

promised to include all the works not provided for in it.

Redistribution of amounts necessary - Rolling Stock estimate.

144. In the interval which had elapsed, various new rules had been issued forexhibiting the heads of expenditure, e. g., Telegraphs, instead of forming a separateheading, were to be included under Construction of Line, Contingencies were to beincluded in Establishment, &c., &c. A redistribution of these items, without anyalteration of the amounts involved, was made in the estimate. A separate estimate indetail for rolling stock, amounting to Rs. 69,73,322, had been recently submitted andapproved, the provision in the original estimate having been Rs. 35,10,000 only. The

amount of this accepted estimate was adopted. Lastly, the amount likely to bedemanded for the Indus bridge at Sukkur appeared so uncertain, that it was thoughtbest altogether to exclude provision for this work, and the sum of Rs. 29,42,763 enteredon this account in the original estimate was struck out.

145. These re-distributions and alterations having been made, the estimate acceptedby Government stood as follows :—

Rs.

Preliminary Expenses, 9,77,468Land, 1,90,974Construction of Line, 2,31,28,129Ballast and Permanent Way, 1,75,04,612Stations and Buildings, 38,86,980Plant, 14,31,400Rolling Stock, 69,73,322

Establishment, 60,40,532Grand Total, 6,01,38,417

Against Rs. 5,96,12,858 in the estimate as originally presented. At the same time theDirector reported that after as close enquiry as was at the time possible, he estimatedthat an additional sum of Rs. 80,00,000 would be required for the SupplementaryEstimate, still excluding the Indus bridge.

146. The traffic undertaken in the previous year on account of the Scinde, Punjab andDelhi Railway Company between Mooltan and Makan Bela was not resumed in this


year. The down river grain traffic having ceased, the Company had not sufficient freightto keep their own steamers employed, and had no need to use the rails of the IndusValley State Railway.

147. The interest of this year lay chiefly in the completion of the three large works. theSutlej bridge, the viaducts over the Indus spills above Sukkur, and the Laki cuttings. Agreat deal of work of all sorts was, however, done on the line generally, in finishing upthe lesser masonry works, fitting stations, plate-laying, providing staff quarters, &c.

Progress made during 1877-78.

148. The following narrative describes in some detail the progress made in the worksduring the year 1877-78.

149. In the Shujabad and Bahawalpur Divisions, now united under one ExecutiveDivision, about 25 lakhs cubic feet of earthwork were executed in restoring the bankwhere damaged by the heavy rainfall. The small quantity of masonry required tocomplete the bridging was done: 7½ lakhs of cubic feet of ballast were collected, making

a total of 45½ lakhs cubic feet out of 63¾ lakhs cubic feet required. The ballast was laidon the first 19 miles from the junction with the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway line atMozufferabad, 6 miles from Mooltan, on miles 42 to 52 and 63½ to 101. The remaininglengths were only partially ballasted. The platelaying of the 14 miles to complete theDivisions was done, making 144 miles in main line, sidings and branches. The Ooch andMakan Bela branch was dismantled, and the permanent way material recovered from itsent on to the Upper Scinde District. With the exception of the Shujabad station, whichhad been destroyed and was in course of reconstruction, all the station buildings were

complete, including their machinery. The roofs of the engine sheds, the framing forwhich had not yet arrived from England, were however incomplete.

Sutlej Bridge Division, main line.

150. On the part of the main line in the Sutlej Bridge Division, all works including

plate-laying were complete.

151. At the Sutlej bridge the well sinking was completed in August, and thesuperstructure of the 11 piers remaining incomplete at the close of 1876-77 was finishedin February of this year.

152. It has been mentioned above that contracts had been entered into with two firms

in England for the manufacture of the girder ironwork. The first delivery was to havebeen made in December 1876, and prompt shipment, it was thought, would bring to siteat Adamwahan 3 or 4 spans at a date which would permit of their erection before theinundation season of 1877-78. The Contractors, however, did not keep to their time, and


there was some difficulty about shipment, which delayed the deliveries in India till solate a date that this expectation was disappointed. The staging, which had been erected,had to be taken down again.

153. The inadequacy of the Scinde, Punjab, and Delhi Railway Flotilla to transport thematerial now became more than ever apparent, and representations were made toGovernment, which resulted in the ironwork for 9 spans being sent to Bombay andCalcutta instead of to Karachi, so that they might reach their destination by railway. Theresults attained fully justified the extra expense inclined in this arrangement, without itthe ironwork would not have been brought to site till long after the setting in of theinundation season of 1878-79, and the completion of the bridge and opening of the lineto traffic would probably have been deferred for a year, and the line would not have

served to assist, as it so materially did, in the transport of troops and stores to Sukkurfor Kandahar for the expedition against Afghanistan.

Progress in eroding ironwork.

154. In Appendix C, attached to this Report, will be found a description of the method

of dealing with the erection of the ironwork, and also some observations on thetemporary bridge and protective works.. The ironwork began to arrive only inNovember. By the end of March 13 spans had been completed, and the remaining 3were finished in May. A very successful season's work, both in regard to the mereweight of material lifted and fixed, and to the peculiar difficulties which had to beovercome, chiefly in the erection of the last 3 spans, a. description of which will begiven under the year 1878-79. A map is attached, extracted from the Annual Report,showing the condition of the river on the 28th March 1878.

155. In the Khanpur and Reti. Divisions 214 lakhs cubic feet of earthwork wereexecuted in the 10 miles, by which the desert deviation was extended southward fromKhanpur, undertaken during this year. The masonry works in bridges. were completed.Ten lakhs cubic feet of ballast were collected, raising the supply to 44 lakhs out of 64required. The plate-laying was completed. The new station building at Firoza wascompleted, and that at Khanpur well forward; at this station staff quarters were built,

and the engine shed commenced. The station machinery was also completed.

156. In the Ghotki Division 192 lakhs cubic feet of earthwork were executed,completing the bank. Eighteen lakhs cubic feet of concrete and brickwork wereexecuted, bringing to completion all but 7 of the bridges, which were well forward andwere completed in May. Nearly 13 lakhs of cubic feet of stone for protecting the bridgeswere put in place during the year. Of the 40 lakhs of cubic feet of ballast required, only8.8 lakhs had been provided. As before mentioned, stone from Rohri was to be used

throughout this Division, and could be carried out only when the carriage of bridgematerial should be completed. The metre gauge tramway was dismantled, and the 5


feet 6 inch track substituted. The station buildings and their fittings and machinerywere all complete.

Progress in the Indus Bridge Division.

157. The revision of the estimate for the Indus bridge was made, but nothing furtherdone towards advancing the project for bridging the Indus. In the meantime it became

necessary to organize a steam ferry, in connection with which a quay was constructedon the Sattian island, which could be approached by steamers at all seasons of the year,and which was connected with the main line run down to the quay wall constructed inthe previous year along the Rohrt bank. A small steamer and some flats were purchasedfrom the Bahawalpur State, and negotiations commenced for the hire of one of the largesteamers of the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway Flotilla.

Progress in the Larkana Division.

158. In the Larkana Division the embankments were completed and also the masonryworks of bridges, excepting of that over the Ghar canal, which could not be laid dry topermit of a commencement of the foundations until a later date. This bridge wascompleted in June. Thirteen-and-a-half lakhs cubic feet of ballast were collected out of

the 47 lakhs cubic feet required. Plate-laying was completed with exception of a gap of 6miles in length, closed in shortly after the end of the year. The stations were completeexcept at Sukkur, for which a final project was still required. Some blocks of staff


quarters were built at Sukkur. The watering arrangements were complete only atalternate stations. A station was established at the river side at Sukkur.

Progress in the Mehur Division.

159. In the Mehur Division the earthwork and bridging were completed and themetals laid. Thirty-one and three-quarter lakhs cubic feet, out of 351 lakhs cubic feet ofballast, were collected, l9 being this year's work. The stations were all completed inessential requirements.

Progress in the Sehwan - Difficulties in Laki Pass -

160. The following extract front the Annual Report narrates what was done in theSehwan Division:—

"The main feature in this Division is the Laki Pass., which is a heavy work. The

line runs for some miles through and around the hills overhanging the Indusbetween Sehwan and Laki. This alignment has led to difficulties greater thanappear to have been anticipated, and of which we have probably not yet seen theend. Everything possible has been done to expedite progress, but the hardnese ofthe rock in some places; its mixture with sandy or shaly strata in others, whichinduces slips; the intense heat from reverberation, which causes numerousdeaths from sun-stroke and fever; as also the unusual depth of the open cuttings,

have, with other circumstances, tended to protract operations long beyond thecalculated date.

The permanent way was laid on formation through a narrow gullet in all thecuttings of the Pass, except two, so that material trains were enabled to passthrough in October. At the two cuttings referred to, diversions were laid roundthe face of the cliff, and by these means permanent way and other materials forthe line up to Larkana were passed forward to the plate-laying head. This

operation was completed at the end of January, and there being then no furtherimmediate prospect of through traffic, the Pass was closed in order that thecuttings might be enlarged to the proper dimensions. But for the time thus lost, itis possible that the gullet cuttings would be now finished, but no other coursecould be followed under the circumstances, having due regard to the generalprogress of the line north of the Pass. As it is, there is every probability of bothgullet and diversion cuttings being finished by the end of June. In order to

ensure this end some modifications have recently been introduced, which willresult in a material saving.


During September a heavy local rainfall occurred on the hills, which suddenlybrought down vast bodies of water on the line. Masses of boulders and gravelwere swept along the rock and poured on to the line, choking the insufficientculverts provided; in some cases burying them beyond reach.

The streams poured into the cuttings, which are on a gradient of 1 in 150; downthis elope the water flowed of course very rapidly, filling the cuttings from sideto side to the depth of several feet, and finally bursting over the heavyembankments at the lower ends, sweeping them away, and carrying amongother things a number of tip wagons over the cliff into the valley below. Aproject is in hand for improving the drainage so as to prevent the recurrence ofsimilar damage. If approved, it should be carried out before trains are allowed to

run, as work in the Pass can scarcely be attempted with safety while traffic isgoing on. The project will consist of catch-water drains on the hill side, culvertsin the rock under formation, diversions of hill torrents, and paved waterchannels down the slopes of all earthen embankments. When the cuttings haveattained their full sanctioned width at formation, so as to admit of proper sidedrains, it is hoped that with the proposed new works, the line through the Passwill be tolerably safe.

Large bridges in the Division.

Exclusive of the Laki Pass, the Sehwan Division comprises works of someimportance—as for instance, the Sann bridge, 23 spans, and the Aral bridge, 8spans of 40 feet, besides others of less dimensions. Both stone masonry andbrickwork have been used in bridges and other buildings. On either side of the

Pass the country is level, but the works on the whole are considerable. Theamount of earth and rockwork executed amounts to 1,442¾ lakhs cubic feet, ofwhich 182¾ lakhs were done during the year. The work is likely to be practicallyfinished by the end of June, exclusive of trimming and dressing to be done afterthe ballast is laid.

The amount of masonry and brickwork in bridges on the Division, including

concrete, is 20¾ lakhs of cabic feet, of which 7 lakhs were done during the year.All the bridges, major and minor, are finished.

The ballast is almost all of stone, and at 12 cubic feet per foot forward wouldamount to 36½ lakhs cubic feet, which is all manufactured. The Division ispartially ballasted almost the whole way through, and much of the boxing hasbeen laid down south of, and in, the Pass.


The plate-laying, with the exception of 5 miles laid previously, has all beenexecuted during the year, and the road throughout made passable for trains. Ithas been maintained in fair order. Steel rails have been used in the Laki Pass

The station buildings in this Division were completed with their machinery."

Progress in the Kotri Division.

161. In the Kotri Division the group of Manjho Nai bridges, unfinished at the end ofthe previous year, was completed, the line was fully ballasted, the stations, withexception of the junction arrangements at Kotri, were all completed.

Rolling Stock on Lower Section.

162. To the one tender engine and 26 low-sided wagons provided in the previous yearon this Division, an addition was made to the rolling stock of 3 tender engines, 100covered goods and 100 platform wagons and 4 brake-vans.

General condition of the line approaching completion.

163. At the close of this year it will thus be seen, with the exception of the Sutlejbridge, of a gap of 6 miles in the Larkana Division, and of a part of the Laki cuttings, theline was ready to be opened for traffic, and this was effected early in the next year.

Eastern Extension Surveys. Hyderabad towards Bombay and Rajputana.

164. The following extract from the Annual Report describes what was done insurveying routes to connect the Bombay and Rajputana Systems with the Scinde Systemat Hyderabad:—

"Orders were received early in November 1877, to organize four survey parties toexplore alternative routes for a line of railway to connect the Bombay andRajputana Systems with the Scinde System at Hyderabad.

Towards the end of November 1877, the officer appointed to charge of thesurveys took the field, but it was a considerable time before the whole of his staff,consisting of 10 Officers and 6 Subordinates, could be assembled to join him,

many of them being engaged upon construction works, which they could notquit suddenly. Late, as was the beginning, in being made, considering theburning and desert nature of the country to be explored, nevertheless all theresults that could be expected were achieved before the parties left the field andwent into recess at Karachi.


The direct route via Omerkote and Deesa appearing impracticable, owing to itsdirection being crossed obliquely throughout the desert, which stretches betweenthose two places by lofty ridges of sand hills, attention was devoted to the onlypromising route north of the Bunn of Kutch, that skirting its northern edge, and

then crossing it via Nuggur Parker to Pahlanpur, and the Kachh Booj route viaLuckput and Bachow to Lilapur.

The preliminary surveys and sections of both these routes, the former 294¾miles, the latter 851¼ in length, were completed, and all necessary informationobtained to enable approximate estimates of the cost to be made out."

1878-79.Whole line opened for traffic.

165. This year witnessed the completion of all of the important works of the line tosuch an extent as permitted of its being opened throughout for traffic. A good deal,

however, still remained to be done to complete the line in all respects.

Satlej Bridge officially opened and named the Empress' Bridge.

166. The Sutlej bridge was completed and tested on the 22nd and 23rd May, and wasofficially opened on the 8th June by the Honorable Member of Council for Public

Works, by command of the Viceroy, and with the gracious permission of Her ImperialMajesty was named the "Empress' Bridge." The published account of this officialceremony will be found in Appendix A to this Report.

Opening of line, Mooltan to Rohri, 1st July - Opening of line, Sukkur to Kotri, 27thOctober.

167. On the 1st July the line was opened for public traffic from Mooltan(Mozufferabad Junction) to Rohri, 272 miles. Insufficient rolling stock prevented thesimultaneous opening of the Lower Section from Sukkur to Kotri, but this delay provedfortunate in the sequel, as during August a flood occurred severer in character than

those experienced in 1874 and 1875, which damaged the line to such an extent in theneighborhood of Sehwan, that despite the utmost efforts of the Staff, communicationwas restored only on the 27th October, when public trains at once began to run throughfrom Kotri to Sukkur. On the 1st of the month a partial opening had been made fromSukkur to Radhan, and on the 8th from Kotri to Laki.


Interruption to traffic by breaches from floods.

168. Traffic was also interrupted for 30 days on the Northern Section by a heavy flood

during August, breaching the bank in several places below Khanpur at a part of the linenever before attacked by heavy spills. Happily everything was restored to such anextent as made the line available in time for running the Troop and Commissariat trainsfor the Quetta Column early in November.

Report on floods of 1878.

169. The following extract from the Engineer-in-Chief's Report gives an account of theextraordinary floods which occurred during this year:—

"The floods in the Indus Valley in 1878 were the most remarkable on record, andwere accompanied by extraordinary rain storms which, although they causedsome local damages and delays to traffic, did, on the whole perhaps, more goodthan harm by consolidating the embankments before the pressure of the floods

came.

The Mooltan Division escaped without damage. The discharge of the Sutlej wasmoderate throughout the season, and the training and protective works at theEmpress Bridge were in no way damaged or threatened.

The spills from the Indus on the left bank extended continuously from mile 176

to 271, with the exception of a few hundred yards of dry ground here and thereat sand hills, &c., causing extensive damage from 158 to 203 miles, and at Sangiat the 260th mile. Damage was afterwards done at Sehwan by the spills whichhad passed through the Kusmore bund on the right bank.

A breach of 8,200 feet wide occurred in this bund on 14th July, and by 29thAugust the numerous breaches had increased to an aggregate of 10,170 linealfeet.

The inundations on the Khanpur Division came chiefly from the Indus left bank,and although the Chenab rose to an unprecedented height also, the BahawalpurState bund stood well, and protected the line above the 153rd mile frominundation.

The flood reached the line at the end of July. By the 10th August the line was so

damaged by ripples washing the slopes north of Naushahra, that traffic wasstopped; on 14th the bank was breached at 158 miles, and by the 22nd there werethirteen large breaches with rapid currents flowing through the bank in a length


of 25 miles, from 158 to 178 miles, besides much damage to the slopes and bridgeapproaches.

The floods reached their greatest height on the 24th August, remained so for

three days, and then began to fall rapidly. Traffic had to be suspended fromKhanpur to Reti, the mails being sent through by trollies and boats.

The break in communication had by great exertions been reduced to two-and-a-half miles by 6th September, and trains ran through again on 18th September.

The flood extended without break to Rohri. The slopes were much damaged, andheavy scour took place at many bridges, but the only place where there was

serious difficulty in maintaining communications was at Sangi, where the rushthrough bridges Nos. 61 to 65, each being two spans of 40 feet girders, was sogreat, that the embankment continued slipping into the great scour holes on thedown-stream side, and could hardly be kept above flood level with stonebrought up by train.

Larkana Division.

On the Larkana Division, from Sukkur to Madeji was exposed to considerabledanger in the latter half of July from the Laki-Abad flood spill. The banks of theSind canal, 18 miles above Sukkur, were extensively breached; the flood crossedthe Shikarpur road, breaching it in several places, and by the middle of July badbreached the Sukkur canal, and stood with a difference of level of 3 feet againstthe railway bank at mile 289. A breach took place here which was fortunately

closed again instantly, before the rush through had gained the mastery; and noother very serious damage was done. There was heavy scour at the Ruk bridgeand others, but not enough to cause anxiety, and the thick jungle of this part ofthe country prevented much damage being done to the slopes by waves on anyconsiderable lengths.

The Jalli bund was not breached by the river in 1878, and it consequently kept

any direct spill from the Indus out of the area enclosed between it and therailway bank the Laki flood discharged through the Ruk bridge until this areabecame filled up, when the height of the water on each side of the railwaybecame nearly the same and higher than the Indus. The discharge then wasthrough the Ruk bridge from right to left, and through bridges at 300 to 807 milesfrom left to right. The water was thus much confined between the Sind canalbank and the Jalli bund.


Kotri Division.

Numerous damages to the railway, caused by the floods in July, were beingrepaired, and the line got into fair running order, when the Kusmore flood camedown, rose to a maximum and unprecedented level of 119.00, or 2 feet higherthan any previously recorded flood. The waterways immediately north ofSehwan proved quite insufficient, and on 17th August four great breaches weremade in the bank between 408th and 410th miles.

The depth of the inundation and the flow through the gaps would have

prevented anything effectual being done to get engines past these breachesbefore the end of September; but it was also deemed unsafe to attempt to forceany more water through the bridges by closing the gaps, for the piers of the Bara-Fitta bridge had moved alarmingly in different directions and were thought to bein danger.

Work was not begun therefore until let October, and trains were not able to pass

over the diversions until 23rd October.

The experience of this season goes to show that nothing can be done to closelarge breaches while the floods are high, and the water running strongly throughthem, and any temporary bridging through the flood, if possible at all, could notbe got ready sooner than the probable subsidence of the flood. In fact no reliancecan be placed on unlimited materials, money, and skill and devotion on the part

of the Staff to restore communication over large breaches during the floods.

Another lesson learned was that, during the floods the safety of the line in allplaces where the slopes are not pitched or protected by very thick jungle iswholly dependent on the absence of high wind. A moderate breeze continuingfor two days would certainly destroy the embankment in any open floodedplace. In 1878 the line was particularly fortunate in experiencing calm weather onthe whole."

Major Forbes' recommendation to increase ventage for floods agreed to.

170. The critical condition of the Railway in seasons of inundation, and theanticipation that the spill over the left bank of the Indus would be seriously increasedwhen certain works of reconstruction and restoration at the Kusmore bund should be

completed, and the spills on that side be in consequence arrested, led the Governmentto call in the services of Major J. G. Forbes, R.E., who had acquired experience in thephenomena of large Indian rivers. This officer's report will be found in extenso in

Appendix B. The recommendations were accepted by the Government, who agreed to


the provision of a considerable increase to the ventage for inundations betweenKhanpur and Rohri and at Sehwan.

Statement of works remaining incomplete after line remaining incomplete wasopened to traffic.

171. The line having been opened, a statement was called for of all the works on the31st October. An officer was officially appointed to the task of preparing this, but hewas unable to complete his work until after the close of the. year. The general result isshown in the following figures, which include all the extra flood openings proposed,

but exclude the Indus bridge with its approaches, as the project for that work is stillincomplete1:—

172. A new organization of the Executive Divisions was introduced: they wereredistributed so as to suit the requirements of maintenance under Revenue. The officeof Engineer-in-Chief was retained, but the Superintending Engineerships wereabolished at the close of the year. The new Executive Divisions were:—

Mooltan Division Miles 0 - 113

Khanpur Miles 113 to 221½

1This Estimate contains an item of Rs. 9,45,223, or 5 percent on the amount of "requirements to complete" to

provide for further unforeseen works. This is necessary, and the amount has been added to the three items of"Construction of Line," "Stations and Buildings," and "Rolling Stock," in following proportion, viz.:—

Construction of Line, Rs. 5,42,855Stations and Buildings, Rs 1,65,595Rolling Stock, Rs 2,86,778Total Rs 9,45,223

Head of Service.

Provis i on in

Col onel

Pei l e's

es ti mate.

Expended up

to 31st

October

1878.

Es ti mated

amount of

incomplete work.

Gros s coat of

Ra i l way.

Rs . Rs . Rs. Ra .

Prel i minary Expens es , 9,77,468 6,28,288 1,000 6,29,288

Land, 1,90,974 1,57,923 67,200 2,25,123

Cons truction of Line, 2,31,28,129 1,90,18,412 92,81,156 2,82,99,568

Bal las t and Permanent Way, 1,75,04,612 1,47,22,228 17,27,269 1,64,49,497

Stati ons and Bui ldi ngs , 38,86,980 24,35,757 28,31,177 52,66,934

Pl ant, 14,31,400 13,43,458 1,62,403 15,05,861

Rol l i ng Stock, 69,73,322 31,61,998 40,48,097 72,10,095

Es tabl is hment, 60,40,532 62,92,954 17,31,390 80,24,344

Total, 6,01,33,417 4,77,61,018 1,98,49,692 6,76.10,7 1 0


Sukkur Miles 221½ to 303Larkana Miles 303 to 402Kotri Miles 402 to Kotri

Appointment of Revenue Staff and general control vested in Consulting Engineer,Lahore.

173. Preparatory to the opening of the line, a Manager and Traffic Superintendentwere appointed in May, and other Revenue Staff was arranged for, to which additionswere rapidly made as the nature of the increasing business demanded. At the close of

the year the control of the line passed from the Director of State Railways, WesternSystem, to the Consulting Engineer to the Government of India for GuaranteedRailways, Lahore.

174. At a Conference held at Lahore in November, a proposal was made by theHonorable Member of Council for Public Works to the Officers of the Scinde, Punjaband Delhi Railway Company, that they should take over the working of the traffic of

the Indus Valley State Railway. The officers of the Company were obliged to refer totheir Board of Directors before making a reply, but it was generally understood that anarrangement to this effect would be come to.

175. The following narrative tells of the principal works executed during the year.

In the Mooltan Division.

176. In the Mooltan Division the extra flood openings, commenced in the previousyear, were completed. All the stations were completed in all respects. Eleven and three-quarter lakhs of cubic feet of ballast were collected, bringing the total up to 56i lakhscollected out of 82i lakhs required.

Progress at the Satlej Bridge.

177. The following extract from the Annual Progress Report narrates what was doneat the Sutlej bridge, of which some additional details will be found in Appendix D.:----

"At the end of last financial year the works of the Division were complete withexception of the bridge itself and its protective works. In the bridge at thebeginning of the financial year all necessary masonry was finished, 11 spans of

the girders were complete, and 2 were under erection, 2 more in course of arrival,and 1 had not left Kotri.

In two of the uncommenced spans the river ran with a channel varying from 46to 58 feet in depth, and in the deeper of these a pile staging, erected under


difficulties unexampled in this country, had already been constructed from sparsof about 70 feet in length driven into the river bed. The base of the left bankprotection bund was in hand up to within 1,500 feet of the left abutment, and itsend was connected by the third temporary bridge of that season with the right

bank sand spit.

To relieve the pressure of immediate freshes, and with an ultimate view todiverting the whole river in the flood season, two canals, each 150 feet wide, hadbeen out through this spit as described in last year's Progress Report, but werebunded up at the ends to prevent silting.

By the 16th of April the 13 spans of girders then in hand were all completed, and

the stage at P, Q, was ready with its upper stage to receive the girders, when asudden fresh in the river was telegraphed from Phillour, and work wassuspended till its passage at midnight of Good Friday, April 19th. This fresh, orrather flood, culminated with a rise of 5½ feet, which would probably havereached 7 feet, but for the relief afforded by cutting the canal bunds.

In spite of the completeness of our dispositions, there was necessarily a most

serious sense of anxiety, as the loss of the stage would have deferred thecompletion of the bridge for nearly a whole year, and would have involved avery heavy loss of money and material.

Fortunately all held good, and by the 22nd of May the whole bridge wascompleted and tested by the Consulting Engineer for Guaranteed Railways,Lahore, in a manner equally satisfactory to the designers and the erectors.

The bridge was declared open for traffic on the 8th of June, and by the end ofJuly the left bank protection bund was completed. The completion of this bridgein a year less than the estimated time, and in point of fact sooner by some weeksthan the through line to Kotri, is a source of great pride to the officers concerned,and the more so as the bridge has been most useful for the conveyance of troopsand stores for the Kandahar Force by rail.

As a foot bridge it has been utilized by cavalry, by elephants, and by greatnumbers of camels carrying Commissariat stores. It is a pity that means foropening it permanently for ordinary camels and other pack animal traffic are notadopted, as these still have to use the ferry. For foot passenger traffic I haveproposed a way along the top of one of the girders, for which a design andestimate of cost (which is small) have been submitted. I believe it would pay welland prove a great convenience to the public.


When the floods of the year culminated in August, the canal cute through thesand spit amply fulfilled their ultimate purpose, and diverted the deep streamfrom its oblique crossing at piers O, P, and Q, into one which ultimately lay inthe centre of, and nearly at right angles to, the bridge.

The spans where the 70 feet piles were used are now quite silted up. The bay of1876, which so nearly outflanked the bridge, now bears a luxuriant crop ofbrushwood, and so thoroughly was the river diverted from the bund, that theprotective materials of the year are still high and dry, and have obviously notbeen undercut at all except at the pier head. The accompanying Map shows theposition of the river at this date.

River Conservancy works.

178. The following extract from the same Report describes the works of a permanentcharacter undertaken for maintaining the river in its course in approaching thebridge:—

The main south bank spur was commenced in February 1877, from the village ofMeani on the high ground, and by the following July, the beginning of the floodseason, was advanced to a point 86 chains from its starting point ; the bund beingconstructed to a height of 5 feet above high water, viz., 385.00 Reduced Level,and carrying a broad gauge tramway. This tramway was connected with themain line at mile 55 by a branch tramway 84.48 chains long, raised so that raillevel stood at Reduced Level 384.00. No difficulties were encountered in theconstruction of the above, except at the crossing of the first dhund or old river

bed, which consumed 4,00,000 cubic feet of earth-filling. The total work donebefore the floods of 1877 was as follows :—

Earthwork, 85,56,000 c. feet.Fascine protection, 8,00,000 sq. feetWillow plantation, 8,40,000 sq. feetCube protection, 8,57,286 c. feet

Stone protection, 1,04,391 c. feet

During the flood of 1877 the temporary head of the bund, which had beenprotected by about 1,04,000 cubic feet of stone, was attacked by the river, and thestone at the immediate head, as well as the protection on the face of the band for200 feet from it, settled down, and was rapidly replaced by a fresh supply to theamount of about 20,000 cubic feet, till settlement ceased, when it was possible tosound stone at depth of 40 feet. After the flood had subsided, the cold weather

stream ran about 19 chains from the band, under the head of which remained anarm of the river 400 feet wide, and 27 feet deep in the middle. In October 1877


work was commenced, and pushed on vigorously; but serious difficulties wereencountered in closing the branch of the river just mentioned. Three or fourtimes unexpected freshes temporarily re-opened it, and carried away the newearthwork. Finally a temporary pile bridge carrying the line of rails was

constructed across it, and the gap rapidly filled from the wagons of an earth trainshunted on to the bridge. Though the unexpected rises in the river had kept backthe work as explained, they afforded an opportunity of pushing the bund stillfurther towards the bridge. Previous to the rises the prolongation of the bundhad been projected up to a point on the edge of the stream which was on theconvex or cutting bank of a bend, this point being temporarily secured againstthe cutting action by ample protection. transported in boats. The effect of the risewas to cause the river to cut straight across the chord of this bend, which latter it

at the same time silted up. Without loss of time the point where the centre line ofthe bund intersected the new edge of the stream was made safe, and connectedto the point formerly secured by a strong line of cube protection transported inboats.

Thus the present bund head was secured in 1878 at a distance of 117 chains fromits starting point, and about 18 chains from the bridge, and the entire new part of

the bund raised to the Reduced Level 874.50 by the end of the official year 1877-78. Thus at the beginning of the present official year the work to be done was—

(1). Raising the height of the new 81 chains of the bund from 874.50 to 385.00.(2). Depositing cube and stone protection along the same.(3). Protecting the rear slope of the same with fascine work and willow

plantation.

It was necessary that the new part of the bund should be, if possible, completedby the middle of July. This involved the execution of work to the followingextent:—

Earthwork, 28 lakhs c. feet.Cube and stone protection, 10 lakhs c. feet.Fasciae protection, 40,000 s. feet.

The earth had to be entirely brought to site by train, and was borrowed from thehigh ground in front and rear of the bund close to Meani. The material forprotection was brought from Hamdic Channi Gote, Mubarakpur, Lodhran,Gilawala and Adamwahan, and as many as four trains daily were employed inits transport. Before the first flood arrived, July 2nd 1878, the stone and cubeprotection was nearly all at site, and the earthwork practically completed.Previous to the floods the new bund head was frequently attacked with great


force, and the stone was known to have settled down 30 feet below low water.The quantities of work executed up to July 31st 1878 were as follows :—

Earthwork, 78,39,216 c. feet.

Stone protection, 8,31,141 c. feet.Cube protection, 13,68,091 c. feet.Cube reserve, 1,14,484 c. feet.Stone reserve, 98,000 c. feet.Fascine and willow plantation, 4,00,000 sq. feet.Extra stone protection in band head, 85,100 C. feet.

The river, which had risen to 375.30 on 2nd July, continued in flood till the

middle of September, the least gauge reading during the time being 373.10 onJuly 23rd, and the highest 379.60 on August 26th. At the commencement of theflood the bund head was slightly attacked, and slight settlement of the materialin front of the bund, about a chain behind the head, took place; but exceptingthis, little or no action occurred, and the river steadily advanced its main streamtowards the right bank, leaving the bund head in comparatively slack water.

From the very offset it was apparent that the canals constructed for relieving thedischarge of the main stream described in last year's Report were fulfilling theirpurpose admirably, and the spans OP, PQ, which at first discharged nearly thewhole river, were gradually relieved, and eventually began to silt up rapidly.

It was, however, by no means as relieving channels only, that these cuts didwork. They appeared to assist the action of the river wonderfully in its continuedattack on the sand bank through which they were cut, and the heads of both

rapidly approached the bridge. The first canal had vanished by the middle ofJuly, and gave place to the river, the second was also absorbed by the river forabout half its length, and the remainder of it was choked by a deposit of silt 4 or5 feet deep.

As a proof that the river discharged itself through the bridge without anyexcessive scour or contraction of its channels, it may be mentioned that 30 feet

was the deepest sounding found throughout the length of the bridge, exceptingjust below spans OP, PQ, where 50 feet was sounded in dead water, but this hadbeen known to exist, being the result of the previous year's floods. At the end ofthis year's flood season, the low water channel passed under the bridge betweenthe spans IK, LM, and since then it has shifted one span nearer to the north bank.

Since the flood season the 'earthwork of the south bank bund has been finished,and 14.30 chains of its length, previously protected by fascine and willows, has

been secured by stone and cube protection from the reserve, so that assuming the


present head of the spur the final one, it may now be said that this work iscomplete.

In November last the right or north bank protective bund was taken in hand, and

as no difficulties whatever have interfered with its construction, it was almost,and would have been quite, completed by the end of the year, but that the rollingstock employed on the work has had to be temporarily taken away for urgenttraffic purposes. As in the case of the south bank works, the main bund has beenprovided with a tramway along its top, connected to the main line by branches,but so disposed as to form the two legs of a triangle, of which the main band isthe third side. In the first 18 chains from the high ground near the city ofAdamwahan, the right bank bund is straight, in the next 16 chains it runs

towards the bridge in a curve of 1,750 feet radius, and the remaining 16 chainsare in a straight line, making an angle of about 60 degrees with the centre line ofthe bridge. The protection has been thus disposed—

(1). First 6 chains from the abutment 300 cubic feet of stone per foot run.(2). Next 10 chains about 200 cubic feet of cube.(3). Next 81 chains about 150 cubic feet of cube per foot run.

(4). Last 4 chains about 200 cubic feet of cube per foot run, and as much stoneas can be collected from all the old stone stacking grounds. The totalquantities of work in the right bank protective works, which it is expectedwill be completed in the present financial year, are as follows:—

Rammed earthwork, 18,61,204 c. feet.Stone protection, 2,14,000 c. feet.Cube protection, 7,25,000 c. feet.

Permanent way, 110 mile.

The total quantities of work in the protective works of both banks complete areas follows:—

Earthwork, 1,08,00,410 c. feet.Stone protection, 7.35,142 c. feet.

Cube protection, 2,07,899 c. feet.Fascine, 8,90,000 s feet.Willow protection, 4,30,800 s feet.Permanent way, 515 mile.

The cost of left bank works including permanent way, which up till now has notbeen all debited against the work, will be 7½ lakhs, and of the right bank works2½ lakhs, or in all 10 lakhs. Out of these total quantities the following amounts

have been executed in the official year 1878-79:—


Works in the Khanpur, Sukkur, Larkana and Kotri Divisions.

179. In the Khanpur, Sukkur, Larkana, and Kotri Divisions little remained to be donein important works at the close of the previous year. A good deal was done incompleting buildings and station arrangements, and some advance was made in ballastcollection. A commencement was also made in raising the embankments and flatteningslopes determined on after the floods of July.

Laki Pass, not quite complete.

One cutting, No. 2, in the Laki hills was still incomplete at the close of the year, but waspassed by a diversion. The drainage project for the Pass was completed during the year.

Designs for Indus Bridge.

180. Some advance was made in the project for the Indus bridge. The ConsultingEngineer for State Railways visited England to confer with the Consulting Engineer


there, and an Engineer was appointed to take further measurements and observationsat Sukkur. The result it is believed may be a return to the site first suggested at Rohri,which offers the shortest span, 625 feet clear, in preference to that more recentlyadvocated at the Hadji Motoo, to cross which a span of 786 feet was necessary.

Steam Ferry at Sukkur.

181. Pending a final decision about this bridge, the steam ferry above described ismaintained at an expense of about Rs. 3,00,000, per annum.

Eastern Extension Surreys.

182. The Survey parties who had been engaged in surveying from Hyderabadtowards Bombay and Rajputana were occupied Until June in recording their field work.While this operation was still incomplete, the parties were all transferred to the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, to assist in surveying for Famine works.

Mooch Salt Branch.

183. Two alternative routes for a branch from the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway atKarachi to the Mooch Salt works were surveyed, but the Government subsequentlydetermined not to prosecute the scheme.

Sukkur to Dadur Surveys.

184. A party was sent out from Sukkur to examine the country towards Dadur, as itwas thought possible that a Railway might be undertaken in that direction inconnection with the expedition to Kandahar. The project was finally abandoned, andthe party was recalled, and two out of the officers were retained to record the workdone and to prepare an estimate.

185. As the works required to complete the Indus Valley State Railway will beexecuted by the Engineers of the Revenue Staff, all future notice of them will be foundin the Administration Report of the Open Line.

186. The annexed statement exhibits the expenditure incurred year by year from thecommencement to the 31st March 1879.

F. W. PEILE, Cot., R.E.,Director.


Sub-Heads of Account.Expenditure to 31st

March 1879.Remarks.

I - PRELIMINARY EXPENSES Rs.

1. Survey Expenses, 6,45,172

2. Plant, 86,244

3. Establishment, 3,36,775

II - LAND 2,82,190

III - CONSTRUCTION ON LINE 68,66,485

1. Earth-work, &c.,

2. Bridge-work

i. Minor bridges, culverts and flood opening's, 80,12,130

ii. Large bridges, 1,17,88,586

3. Tunnels, ..

4. Level Crossings, 1,09,778

5. Fencing, 95,009

6. Electric Telegraph, 29,648

IV - BALLAST AND PERMANENT WAY

1 .Ballasting, 20,07,725

2. Permanent Way, 1,87,25,271

V - STATIONS AND BUILDINGS

1. Stations and Offices, .. 9,44,811

2. Workshops, Store Buildings, &c., 1,16,134

3. Staff Quarters, 10,61,258

4. Station Machinery, 10,95,509

VI - PLANT

1. Engineering, 18,42,272

2. Locomotive, 1,953

3. Carriage and Wagon, 22,706

4. Station and Office Furniture, 1,53,851

5. Traffic, ..

VII - STEAM PARRIES, 6,006

VIII - Roiling-Stock

1. Locomotive Stock, 21,58,280

2. Carriage and Wagon Stock 28,68,240

IX - ESTABLISHMENT

1. Direction 113,68,902

2. Engineering, 88,98,144

3. Locomotive, ..

4. Traffic, 7501

5. Stores, 5,71,101

6. Audit and Accounts, 8,68,658

7. Medical and Sanitation, 2,82,289

8. Loss on Stores transferred to other Railways, 58,882

Total Final Heads, 5,86,45,910

Suspense, 88,84,589

Total 5,75,80,499

Deduct - Receipts on Capital Account, 89,319

Total 5,74,41,180

Deduct - Credits to Expenditure in England, 1,22,61,059

Balance-Expenditure in India, 4,51,80,121

MOOLTAN 22nd July 1879 (Signed) I. SHERLOUK HUBBARD

Dy. Examiner of Accounts, L.V.S.R.

Statement showing the expenditure incurred on each Sub-head of Service from the

INDUS VALLEY STATE RAILWAY.


186

9-7

0.1

870-

71.

187

1-72

.18

72-

73.

187

3-7

4.18

74-7

5.18

75-7

6.18

76-7

7.18

77-7

8.1

878-

79.

Pre

lim

ina

ryE

xpe

nse

s,2,

944

5,0

0,8

8951

,26

01

6,7

221

7,1

691

0,9

556,

905

3,79

,602

22,8

60

8,8

85

10,1

8,19

1

Lan

d,

...

...2

611

3,1

705

3,0

672

5,8

0915

,493

33,9

54

18,0

45

72,

391

2,3

2,1

90

Co

nst

ruct

ion

of

Lin

e,..

.6

8874

,35

75

,63

,78

61

2,7

5,2

481

7,9

1,3

885

1,2

3,0

52

6,5

78

46,9

2,0

25

6,57

859

,74

,07

79

,02

,06

52,

03,

96,

636

Bal

last

and

Per

man

en

tW

ay,

...

...13

,05

23

0,7

205,

24,

878

12,

15,

270

24,2

2,4

12

40,1

9,4

44

64,9

8,0

87

10,0

9,1

35

1,5

7,3

2,9

98

Sta

tio

ns

and

Bu

ild

ing

s,..

.1

2821

,37

41

,84

,33

93,

66,

979

2,0

3,3

932,

39,9

833,

52,3

169,

24,9

53

9,2

4,2

42

32,1

7,70

7

Ste

amF

erri

es,

...

......

...

.....

...

....

...6

,00

66,

006

Pla

nt,

10,

638

13,

088

21,5

79

81,

260

1,4

1,7

232

,62,

629

3,55

,100

1,84

,947

3,27

,77

71

,21

,54

615

,20,

282

Ro

llin

gS

tock

,..

....

...6

502

6,5

528

8,4

0017

,65

,37

52,

88,3

202,

10,1

61

26,4

7,0

15

50,2

6,47

3

Mai

nte

nan

ce..

....

.....

....

...

24,0

0424

,00

4...

.....

.

To

tal,

13,

5S2

5,2

0,2

381

,81

,88

38

,90

,64

72

4,0

5,6

163

5,9

7,8

4499

,58

,90

299

,20

,02

61,

39,7

5,96

056

,85

,78

54,

71,

50,

483

Est

abli

shm

ent,

29,

326

1,9

2,9

992

,49

,69

55

,91

,43

48,

28,

426

10,

00,

414

10,2

0,2

07

6,78

,124

12,2

8,3

41

6,1

7,5

79

64,3

6,54

5

Go

sso

nst

ore

str

an

sfe

rre

dto

oth

er

Rai

lwa

ys,

...

......

...

...9

5954

,984

2,93

9...

...5

8,8

82

To

tal

Fin

alH

ead

,

Incr

eas

ein

Bal

an

ceo

fS

usp

ense

Acc

ou

nt,

12,

524

6,0

82

27,2

46

6,2

7,8

54

33,

15,

152

27,

96,

532

9,59

,003

9,66

,081

23,7

2,3

97

14,0

8,8

44

38,8

4,58

9

To

tal,

55,

432

7,0

7,1

554

,58

,82

42

1,0

9,9

3565

,49,

1.9

47

3,9

5,7

491,

00,

75,

090

96,3

5,0

08

1,28

,31,

904

77,1

2,2

08

5,7

5,8

0,4

09

Ded

uct

-Rec

eip

tso

nC

ap

ital

Acc

ou

nt,

201

313

931

,254

9,7

04

17,

527

12,9

8628

,52

54,

998

13,

781

89,

319

To

tal,

55,

412

7,0

7,0

244

,58

,43

12

1,0

8,6

816

5,3

9,4

907

3,7

8,2

221,

00,

62,

104

96,0

6,4

83

1,28

,26,

906

76,9

8,4

27

5,7

4,4

1,1

80

Ded

uct

fin

all

y.

De

bit

toth

eIn

dia

nB

oo

ks

by

cred

its

toe

xpe

nd

itu

rein

En

gla

nd

for

va

lue

of

En

gli

shst

ore

sre

ceiv

eda

nd

oth

erit

ems

cha

rge

do

ffin

En

gla

nd

and

En

gli

sho

utl

ayin

susp

ense

,

...

......

1,0

4,4

19

20,

11,

124

14,

59,

567

14,7

1,5

53

24,8

9,8

89

29,2

9,8

26

17,9

4,6

81

1,2

2,6

1,0

59

Bal

an

ce-E

xp

end

itu

rein

Ind

ia,.

..5

5,4

127

,07,

024

4,5

8,4

31

20,

04,

262

45,

28,

366

59,

18,

655

85,9

0,5

51

71,1

8,8

94

98,9

7,0

80

59,0

3,7

46

4,5

1,8

0,1

21

MO

OL

TA

N,

(Sig

ned

)I.

SHE

RL

OC

KH

UB

BA

RD

,

22n

dJu

ly18

79.

Dy

.Exa

min

ero

fA

cco

un

ts,

L.V

.SR

.

5,3

6,4

5,9

10

IND

US

VA

LL

EY

ST

AT

ER

AIL

WA

Y.

Sta

tem

ent

Sh

ow

ing

the

exp

end

itu

rein

curr

edy

ear

by

yea

ro

nea

chM

ain

hea

do

fS

erv

ice

fro

mth

eco

mm

ence

men

tto

31st

Ma

rch

187

9.

Cla

ssif

icat

ion

.E

XP

EN

DIT

UR

ED

UR

ING

To

tal

Exp

en

-

dit

ure

to3

1st

Ma

rch

187

9.

42,

908

7,1

3,2

374

,31

,57

81

4,8

2,0

813

2,3

4,0

424

5,9

9,2

171,

10,

34,

093

1,0

6,01

,089

1,52

,04,

301

63,0

3,3

64


APPENDICES.

APPENDIX A.

Extract from the Pioneer of the 12th June 1878.

THE EMPRESS BRIDGE.[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Adamwahan, 8th June.

THE bridge over the river Sutlej at Adamwahan was opened by Sir Andrew Clarke this

morning in the presence of some 800 Europeans and many thousands of natives. Thereport of the Director of State Railways (Colonel Peile, B.E.) gives a full description ofthe bridge, so I will not say more of it than that it is handsome and good; that it looks asif made for all time, aid exactly the kind of work that make the natives look up to andfeel the superiority of the English, who are able to control and bridge their wildestrivers, and meet difficulties only to overcome them by their indomitable perseveranceand engineering skill. The arrangements for the opening were excellent, and with the

exception of one or two trifling delays, such as a hot axle at Mooltan on one of thecarriages of the special, and the running over a stray camel by the same train atAdamwahan, everything went very smoothly. A special train of 22 carriages, containingthe guests invited on the Lahore and Jhelum side, left Lahore at 8-15 P.M. on Friday. Init were Sir Andrew Clarke, his Private Secretary Captain Brackenbury, R.E., Mr.Moleaworth, Consulting Engineer to Government, Colonel F. W. Peile, R.E., theDirector of the Western System of State Railways, Lieutenant-Colonel Medley, B.E.,Major Trail, R.E., Major Fenwick, the Bishop of Lahore, Rev. W. H. Tribe, Chaplain of

Lahore, many officers of the S. P. and D. Railway Company, the Agent of which linewas unfortunately unable, through sickness, to go down ; Messrs. Bell, Morrison, Ross,Scott, Arundel, Conder and others. On arriving at Mooltan about 5-30 A.M., chota hazri

was provided on the platform, and, after about an hour's stoppage, the train proceededto the Sutlej bridge, having picked up at Mooltan eight more carriages and a number ofladies and gentlemen. On arriving at the station of Adamwahan close to the bridge, wefound the buildings prettily decorated with the long grass (which seems almost the only

form of vegetation in that howling wilderness) and palm branches. Banners wereintroduced overhead and in the groups of palm, and over the entrance to the bridgewas an immense white banner, on which was in large crimson letters "The SutlejBridge." When the ceremony of naming was performed, this banner was reversed andshowed "The Empress Bridge." When the train drew up at the platform, the Nawab ofBahawalpur, who had arrived before us, was introduced to Sir Andrew Clarke byColonel Graham, the Commissioner of Mooltan, by command, representing the


Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. The guests then walked on to the bridge, and whenin their places, a procession was formed, consisting of Sir Andrew Clarke, the Nawab,Colonel Graham, the Bishop of Lahore, Rev. W. H. Tribe, Colonel Peile, Mr. Bayne,Engineer-in-Chief of the Indus Valley, Mr. Bell, who has completed the bridge, and

others. On arriving at the bridge, Colonel Peile (the Director) presented Sir AndrewClarke with a brief history of the bridge.

Then followed an impressive service read by the Lord Bishop of Lahore and the Rev. W.H. Tribe; after which Sir Andrew Clarke, in a few well-chosen words, congratulatedthose engaged on the bridge, on behalf of the Empress and Viceroy, on the completionof their work, informed the company of the Empress' permission that the bridge shouldbe called after her and handed down to posterity as the Empress Bridge, and

proclaimed the bridge open for traffic. Long and hearty cheers were then given for theEmpress Queen, the band struck up the National Anthem, and the party went back totheir carriages in the special train. To this train a gaily decorated engine was attached,and took us steadily across the bridge. The first train crossed amid the cheers ofthousands of native workmen who were clustered over the structure. The train wasthen run down the bund to enable a good view of the bridge to be obtained, and then,for the first time, we recognized how vast and splendid a structure it was; and when

one looked at the mighty river bed, and imagined that now placid stream, swollen andangry, rushing down its torrents with seemingly irresistible force, it' appeared animpossibility that the bridge should ever have been completed, as it stands now, aspecimen of what human ingenuity can devise, of man's victory over nature, anenduring and a careful monument to be handed down to those who come after us,connected with the names of all who have worked, and some alas! who have lost theirlives while engaged upon it.

The country round the Sutlej is arid and desolate to a degree, destitute of vegetation,and of a climate most inimical to health ; so much so, indeed, that hardly a Europeanengaged on the work but has felt it more or less severely, many having been forced toleave, and some of them having died on it. The train now recrossed the bridge, anddrew up at Adamwahan station. Here we again descended, and passing down a prettilydecorated passage, some hundred and fifty yards in length, entered the mechanics'shop, which had been stripped for the occasion, and ornamented with flags and

devices, many of which I fancy had been used when the Prince of Wales was over herein India. The shop had been plentifully supplied with punkahs and a large steamthermantidote, and under their cooling influence were spread tables to accommodateabout 250 guests. The dejeuner was presided over by Mr. Rayne, the Engineer-in-Chief

of the Indus Valley State Railway, who had on his right Sir Andrew Clarke, on his leftthe Commissioner of Mooltan. At the high table which ran across the top of the room,were seated, in addition, Mr. Molesworth, the Nawab, Major Grey, Colonel Peile,Colonel Medley, Mr. Mundote, and others; and the other tables were well filled withwell-known faces. After the dejeuner, the President proposed successively "The


Empress;" "The Prince of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family;" and "The Viceroy," allof which toasts were drunk with much enthusiasm amidst hearty cheering.

Sir Andrew Clarke then rose to propose—"Success to the bridge and the Officers and

men connected with it," which he did in the following words:—

I am glad to have received the instructions of the Viceroy to tell you that it would havebeen to him a source of much interest and pleasure, had the fact which we are todayassembled here to commemorate occurred at a time when he could have arranged to bepresent. His Excellency has bid me assure those who have been engaged upon thiswork, that when he was here towards the end of 1876, he was deeply impressed withthe magnitude of the undertaking, and thoroughly appreciated the difficulties which

had been already overcome and still remained to be conquered. I am also commissionedby the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, in whom you have an appreciative, indeed Imay say almost a professional, critic—for he is by taste and study an engineer—toconvey to you his regret that he is not able to be present today—a commission whichshall best fulfill by reading to you his letter to me. Writing a few days ago, Mr. Egertonsays:—"I am very glad to hear from your letter that the Indus Valley Railway Bridgeover the Sutlej is to be honored by being named the Empress Bridge. I congratulate you

and the officers of the department over which you preside on the successful completionof this magnificent work which is unsurpassed in India, and which is a most importantlink in the line of communication between Upper India and the seaboard. I regret that Icannot be present in person on the occasion of the opening, and I must therefore askyou to convey my congratulations to the officers who have been employed upon thework, on the success which has crowned their labors." Sixteen years have now elapsedsince Brunton, the Engineer, pitched his camp and collected his forces on this wild anddesolate spot, having a task before him not less vast, if tradition and history speak

aright, than that which the mighty "Iscander" undertook when with his hosts he crossedthe Ravi and the Chenab, and came, it is said to this very site, to pass his legions to thefurther conquest of an immense city and nation on the banks of far distant Ganges.Some of you, to whom I am now speaking, have by your previous labors succeeded inspanning with great works the Ravi and the Chenab, and in now bridging the riverSutlej have done that which baffled the great Alexander himself, when, disheartened byheavy falls of rain, more probably by fitful floods of this mighty stream, he had with his

army to fall back upon the Indus, and compelled to abandon his golden schemes ofambition, sailed back on its broad bosom to the seaboard. Thus that river Sutlej, whichto Alexander proved the as plus ultra of his Eastern conquests, has been to you only onemore opportunity of achieving another engineering victory, which will have to befollowed up still by an enterprise which I dare to prophesy—owing its origin to theconceptive genius of that eminent Engineer, Mr. Molesworth, who has already done somuch for India, and depending for its execution on the devoted labors of the menaround me—will at no distant date be accomplished: the no less heroic task of spanning

the mighty Indus itself. Great and interesting as have been the difficulties which have


been overcome by the attention and care of Mr. Bayne, Mr. Galwey, Mr. Heenan, whofell on the field of his work, Mr. Graham, and others who have been employed here—ifI do not note them all, let them not fancy their names or labors are forgotten—thesethings are known to most of us here present today, and have been described to our

visitors (I mean the difficulties in constructing the foundation of this bridge, and inraising the superstructure), perhaps even still more interesting and certainly no lessperplexing was the task of training and curbing the river itself, so as to induce it toabandon its vagaries and wanderings and keep in the way it should go. It may perhapsbe premature and hazardous to assert boldly that we have cured this most erratic-of-erratic Indian rivers, and have permanently placed it under discipline at this spot. Still itis not to be denied that what has been done promises right well, though it will need allthe ceaseless vigilance and untiring care of its tutor, Colonel Peile, to guard against the

river's rebelling and relapsing once more into the wildest, most untamed, and mostfrolicsome of mountain torrents. Without doubt one of the most remarkable features ofthe fabric itself has been the sinking and founding of the wells. To us engineers here inIndia, the system of founding the buttresses or piers over which the roadway is to passis well known; and it is commonly said that we have learnt the practice in this country,having adapted and adopted it from the native engineers of India. I am myself underthe impression that it has been stated under competent authority that this system of

dropping hollow cylinders into the heart of treacherous soil owes its birth to aninventive genius of a date long anterior to any application of it in this country, andhence that it cannot be said to be of pure Indian origin. Be this as it may, however, itmust be admitted that whatever was its source, it is in India that we have learnt thevalue of the principle ; that our application of it has met with marked success so far, andthat one of the novel and remarkable features of this fabric, I repeat, is the great depthto which in the bed of the Sutlej, the engineers have had to sink their piers. If Iremember right, all are down some 100 feet below the natural, or what should be the

natural, bed of this wandering river; and I cannot leave this part of my theme withoutmentioning with honor the name of one of ourselves a French Engineer, who has beenassociated with us in this particular work, and to whose skill and inventive genius it isdue, that we have been able to accomplish the. sinking of the wells with less difficulty,and with much economy of time and money. For though our roving, never-stay-at-home river, a very Bohemian in his nature, and a second Ariel in his eccentricities, lovessoft lying, still his bed is in places hard, and was intractable to deal with until Mr.

Gatmell invented a machine which I commend to the attention of those who have notseen it, which is as simple as it is original, and which has removed the hard and gnarledlumps that have been met with in the mattress of the Sutlej.

Another feature in the practical erection of this bridge, and one which furnishes, Isuspect, exceptional experience, is the rapidity with which the iron superstructure hasbeen put in place. To have lifted on to the piers these girders, weighing tons upon tons,and clenched with thousands of rivets, would be in itself a feat of which any man, who

had organised the arrangements, might justly be proud. But when you view the site on


which he had to work, and call to mind that at the very moment of Mr. Bell's supremeagony, when the last of his water spans was being lifted into place, our Ariel riversuddenly took it into its eccentric head, or bosom, or what you will—to do what it hadnever done before in the memory of the oldest inhabitant,—if an old inhabitant ever

survives in Adamwahan,—and at that very particular time of year came down in flood,and threatened the whole of the staging and appliances by which the girders werebeing adjusted; when you remember all this, you will, I am sure, agree with me inattributing the success with which the river was defeated, to the pluck, skill, and energyof Mr. Bell and his assistants, and to the men, both European and Native, who,confiding in their leader, worked with willing hearts and hands to beat the enemy.Intimate as most of you are with them, I will not weary you, gentlemen, with anyfurther details of the technical or professional history of that work, the completion of

which we are now commemorating. Colonel Peile, the Director of the Western System,and Mr. Rayne, the Engineer-in-Chief of the Line, will more ably comment on these. Ihope though that not only will Mr. Bell, who has borne no small share in this greatsuccess, but that others also, will contribute to professional periodicals either in this orin the mother-country the outcome of their observations and experience, and thatColonel Peile will have leisure to record the results of his views, gathered from a freshinsight into the behavior of the Sutlej under the treatment which it has undergone.

Hitherto I have mainly alluded to the merely professional history of the structure; butthere are other events connected with it which have a story of their own, and whichinvite our recognition and enlist our sympathy. Severed fr3m society, on the borders ofthe desert, and on the banks of a turbulent river yellower than Father Tiber, has beencreated this colony, of which a few of those around me have been members from thevery first. But not a few of those who once formed it are now absent, and the pestilentialand malaria laden air has caused many a change in the lives of some, and has mademany a gap in the circle of the family hearth or of the friendly station mess. Unhappily

these incidents are inseparable from the engineer's life and vocation in India; butbecause these instances are not uncommon, it is none the less my duty and my right notto pass them by unnoticed or scantily recognized. Without betraying a secret, for this isnot known to me for certain, I may say that I have an impression that the alacrity withwhich Her Majesty the Queen and Empress gave her gracious assent to calling thisbridge The Empress, was in itself a sympathetic acknowledgment of the devotion toduty, and of the sacrifice to honest work, which this bridge will ever illustrate. And

here, gentlemen, in addressing you and asking you to accept from me the assurance ofthe pride and gratification I feel in being able today to speak face to face with you—anopportunity which the nature of my office and the character of my duties seldom affordto me—permit me to say to our co-workers elsewhere in India, whether in the fever-stricken plains of Northern Bengal or in the deadly gorges of the valley of theNerbudda, that there rise to my lips the names of many men who share with us here thesame claims to Royal sympathy and Imperial consideration as have now been given, onbehalf of all who are laboring in the material development and improvement of India;

and if I do not, repeat these names here, it is not because I do not remember them, but


because, by perchance, omitting one, I might give pain to the heart of some faithfultoiler. From the immediate object of this festive gathering, I will now pass on to thelarger subject of the Indus Valley Railway itself, of which this bridge is a mostimportant link ; and, after a few words on it, will release you from having so long to

listen to my dry matter. I am not one of those who regard this great artery as a merestrategic line, and only of real use when the exigencies of war shall demand it. I have ona former occasion and more than once when the Government of India has been accusedof sacrificing or squandering the resources of India on lines of railway projected on aninsecure basis, and in subordination to ambitious strategic ideas, or in needlesssubjection to some possible military necessity, I have, I say, affirmed my conviction thatthese great works, from whatever source or for whatever cause they might proceed,would be more certain to secure a lasting peace, than could ever be assured by the

agency or the provocation of war. Personally and practically in fact, I hardly knowwhen and where I would consider a line of railway in this country to be a mere strategicagent. I believe the idea is a myth in itself, a mere creation of the recent schools ofmodern military pedantry. Give me for ordinary use and for the simple purposes ofpeace and of prosperous times the very best commercial route that can be aligned, andlet the Genius of war apply it to its own wants when the occasion arises. I warrant suchcommercial lines will be found to contain every needful condition of war. It will be as

interesting to you as it was satisfactory to me, when looking over some old recordsconnected with the early history of this Indus Valley State Railway, to come across someremarks written long previous to his connection with this great Province, and thus notspecially interested in it as a mere local work, but regarding it from a far larger field, tocome across, I say, some remarks by Sir Henry Durand, then a Member of the SupremeCouncil.

In a note of his of 1869 on the projected Railways of India, Sir Henry writes:—

"Before touching on these points, however, I wish to remark, that in India thedistinction between commercial and political lines, is a distinction to which I cannotgive my own adherence. In our Indian Railways, it is, to my mind, impossible toseparate the political from the commercial value of these great lines of communication. Icertainly would not advocate the construction of any line from any purely politicalmotives; and in strenuously and repeatedly pressing for the early construction and

completion of the Indus group of Railways, even when Sir John Lawrence and the restof the Council were not disposed to accept my view, I was influenced quite as much bythe commercial as by the political advantages of this measure. To bring the Punjab andthe whole Indus Frontier into easy connection with the seaboard seemed to me ofincalculable importance commercially, as well as politically of advantage. I do not thinkwe have as yet any data on which to estimate the value of the trade which may accruefrom facilitating the flow of British goods into Central Asia, and from remedying thedefects of the position of the Punjab as to traffic ascending from the sea-coast. I

therefore concur with the one dispatch in the prominence given to the early completion


of the Indus Frontier group of Railway lines, being confident that in the interests ofpeace and of commerce no other line is of equal importance. Of peace, because nothingis so calculated to insure that blessing, both internally and externally, as the convictionthat the British Government is master of the position on the Frontier from north to

south ; of commerce, because no other line, whilst thus insuring the general confidenceof the country in the peace and security of our frontier provinces, has a larger field thanCentral Asia for the consumption of many of our British and Indian products whenonce that region is actually tapped."

When Sir Henry Durand wrote, the realisation of this project was not near, nor hadthere been experience of other lines under similar conditions, which could be taken asguides. Every opinion and every word of Sir Henry Durand, written as the outcome of

the large statesmanship of the man, and with the prophetic sight of the cultured studentof the past, we can now endorse and confirm by practical experience and by the resultsof accomplished facts. The Rajputana Line, for instance, traversing through much of itslength a country with but scant cultivation and a sparse population, has belied, by itsresults, both in goods and passenger traffic, the forecast made of its returns. The PunjabNorthern again, though working under a mere makeshift, and far from satisfactorysystem, has surprised all by the traffic which it has suddenly developed. And I have

every confidence that similar success awaits the Indus Valley Railway and its futureextension as indicated by Sir Henry Durand, and that the day is not very far away whenthe astute Rulers of the countries beyond our frontier, throwing to the winds allsuspicions of our intentions, and waking up to the real interests of themselves and oftheir people, will invite us to carry the winged fire chariot into the very hearts of theirterritories. I am hopeful that the early net receipts from this line will swell the sum totalof our Revenue from Railways, which already obliterates the debt and leaves thebalance to the credit of the tax-payer —a fact to which I would draw the attention of a

few, no doubt well disposed, but certainly not well informed, publicists, among ournative writers, who attribute to the operation of the Public Works Department and to itsextravagance in its Railway schemes much of the burden which India has to bear. Insaying this, I do not wish to ignore the truth that improved facilities of transport maypress for a time hardly, and may possibly hew injuriously, on certain classes of thecommunity, but I feel assured that this pressure will be but transitory, and that thecause itself will create the strength which will lighten the burden, if it will not remove it

altogether. The success of our Indus Valley Line, will in this instance be in no smalldegree advanced and secured, if the illustrious Prince, whose ancestors have been theloyal and .devoted lieges of the Imperial Crown, and who has already given practicalpledges of his policy, guided by his intelligent and enlightened Counsellers, will realisethe fact that this Railway, passing as it does through some 200 miles of his territory,may, if wisely used, confer on him and on his people the boon of a new and extensiveprosperity. I am not ignorant of, nor do I shut my eyes to, the difficulties that in the firststages may be encountered by His Highness, because we in British territory shall have

to meet much the same in encouraging settlement of population and the extension of


cultivation in this tract, which, now a so-called desert, can become a fertile garden ifonce the flood waters of the Indus are brought under control, and wells are multiplied.But I am convinced that a liberal and permanent land tenure will accomplish much toaid man in his efforts to accept and avail himself of nature's gorgeous gifts. In the

immediate present we cannot expect this line to be a brilliant commercial success. But ifother lines, under not dissimilar conditions have agreeably disappointed theirprojectors, why should we not anticipate, in the not distant future, a like result for theIndus Valley Railway? Of one thing, however, we may rest assured, and no one willdoubt it; and that is the benefits which this line will confer on the Punjab as well as onScinde. I saw it publicly stated somewhere the other day, that the uncertainty whichsurrounds the political and administrative union of these two provinces will injuriouslyaffect the prospects of the line. I believe no such thing. Whether we be all under the

jurisdiction of Bombay or of the Punjab, or of both, it will matter little. "Caesar's verymuch like Pompey, and Pompey very like Caesar;" and if the line is to flourish at all, itwill flourish independently of the smiles of one or the other, or even if the sunny smilesof the fair daughters of Bombay are absorbed by the robust and progressive Punjab. Inwhat has been already accomplished within the short space of time, for which Britishrule is responsible in either the Punjab or Scinde, we have given no little promise thatwe need not doubt the early accomplishment of the wish that I ask you now to share

with me, in pledging a long life to the Empress Bridge, and success to the Indus ValleyRailway. And with this I ask you to couple the health of Mr. Rayne, Mr. Galwey, Mr.Bell, and the engineering staff engaged on the bridge.

Mr. Rayne, in returning thanks in a very able speech, said that the praises of Sir Andrewhe disclaimed as far as he himself (Mr. Rayne) went, but for his staff he accepted themall, and from a man with such an engineering knowledge as that possessed by SirAndrew Clarke, praise was indeed praise. (Cheers.) The work had occupied 3½ years,

and the labour on it was continuous and severe. The theory that some philosophersheld, that water was inherently malignant to man, seemed in this case to have beenborne out, for the river pursued like an evil genius the little colony that had sprung upnear it; and when the stream first felt those fetters which man has since firmly boundabout it, it revenged itself by carrying off the larger house in the settlement, and cutaway many acres of ground. Engineers in this which might be called the stone choppingage of the bridge (laughter), defended the colony with all their science, and for two

years the river was coated with large fascines and weed spurs, and ran straight. And inAugust 1875 it rose and flooded the colony, knocked down the stores, &c., andcommitted great havoc. At this time, diners out went to their host's huts or tents in flat-bottomed mortar boxes, and he (Mr. Rayne) was amused one evening to see in front ofhim a box with Captain Sparkes and Captain Wither also going out to dinner in it. Needhe add that the box had such a list that she was almost unsafe (loud laughter andcheers). When the river went down, it left such a dreadful malaria that the works hadpractically to be stopped. This flood was of a most unusual height, but the river in the

succeeding year rose 18 inches higher still; but a bund had been erected which sheltered


the colony, but was insufficient to withstand the force of the flood, as the river made abreak which was filled by men standing in it, and forming a living sand-bank. Thenwere the men of large proportions appreciated (laughter). Finding itself foiled here, theriver went across and cut away three-fourths of a mile of ground; but here, thanks to the

foresight of Colonel Peile when Engineer-in-Chief, a supply of reserve stone had beencollected, which was most useful; and had it not been for these thoughtful precautionsof his, a second bridge would certainly have had to have been built. (Loud cheers).After this the spur was made, consisting of huge masses of stone, in the providingwhich Mr. Baxter especially distinguished himself (cheers), and this saved the bridgeand that side. It was one of the difficult works that Mr. Baxter is constantly asked toperform, and about which he generally says:—"I don't think it can be done, but I'll tryit" (laughter), and then there is no more need for anxiety; for somehow or another it will

be done, and done well. (Loud cheers). The river had now one more chance, namely,when the girders were put up, and it availed itself of its opportunity in this wise. Lastyear there was no flood at the usual flood season, but, when the cold weather set in,floods came on one after another; but they were conquered. The result has been success.The bridge was open (hear, hear), but continued care and vigilance were still necessary.Mr. Rayne went on to mention those who had so ably assisted him, more particularlyMessrs. Galwey and Monk, for their excellent work in the well sinking (cheers), Mr.

Graham who began the work (cheers), Messrs. Tait and Moyle, two young officers whoreflected the greatest credit on the College engineers, and who in an incredibly shorttime became most useful and efficient officers. (Cheers). Among subordinates, bementioned Mr. Mclnerny, of the carriage building department, who did piling in 40 feetof water with a stream running 6 miles an hour (cheers). Mr. Windmill, the foreman ofthe workshops, whose branch was properly locomotives, was ubiquitous andindefatigable (cheers). Mr. Bewell, who was often in the river bed at mid-day, and Mr.McPherson, who had charge of the rivetting, were deserving of special praise. (Cheers).

Messrs. DeSilva and O'Sbaugnessey were also most able assistants. Mr. Rayneconcluded by praising very highly the conduct of the natives employed, and said thatthey did not know what fear meant. Wherever a European would lead they wouldfollow, and follow well, though thoroughly aware of the danger they would encounter.Mr. Rayne again disclaimed his share of the praise (cries of no, no), and gave all thehonor and praise to those under him.

The President then proposed the health of the Lord Bishop of Lahore, and his Lordshipreplied as follows:—

MR. PRESIDENT, YOUR HIGHNESS AND GENTLEMEN PRESENT WITH USTODAY: I rejoice in the unanimous consent and hearty sympathy with which theproposal was accepted for commencing the proceedings of the day with dedication andcommendation of the work to Almighty God. The telegram received today from ourEmpress (it seemed more like a telephone than a telegram, so vividly did the Queen's

electric message thrill through our hearts, and set us in the presence of our Empress and


her Court, and express the sympathies with all good and great works in her Empire ofwhich her heart is full) was a pleasing and refreshing feature of the day's procedure: butwhat was more, our sacred service of today brought us near (I trust) to Him by whomKings rule, "the King of Kings and Lord of Lords," who, I believe, is not indifferent to

our gathering of today, but will give His blessing and favor, and prosper the work ofour hands upon us.

It occurred to me on my journey by rail this morning to take up, as I do sometimes someold Roman Historian, and in this way some thought is often suggested pertinent to thematter in hand. The passage described the character of Antiochna Epiphanes, or as thehistorian says his people often called him "Epimanes," the mad man, because of theunaccountable fantastic follies and infatuations be was at times guilty of. On one

occasion he built a magnificent temple of Jupiter Olympus, of which the rafters of theroof were of solid gold, and the walls throughout were plated with gold. I could nothelp contrasting this work with that very useful work en which we met this morning,not only to connect with the name of our Empress, but also to dedicate to the Glory ofGod. Such a fabric might indeed be called in one sense a temple of science, but by aservice of dedication may we not say that it becomes a temple to the living God? Fordoes not our Holy faith set its seal and put a crown and concentrate in itself as in a

focus all excellencies and virtues, all beauties and glories, all that is tree, good, nobleshonorable, lovely, but also what is useful advantageous, profitable; for are we nottaught: "Godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise. of the lee that now is and ofthat which is to some." Thus a place is found for the profitable as well as for that which is

true and lovely and of good report. It cannot be indifferent therefore to the manyadvantages and benefits which may be looked for as likely to arise from the erection ofthis fabric.

It has a real privilege and pleasure to hear called out the long roll of those who indifferent capacities have contributed to the success of this work, devoting to it all thezeal and energy of their hearts, resources of mind, labour of hands. I believe they amplydeserve all that has been said in their praise. I believe it to have been eminently afaithful and conscientious work, and faithfulness the wise man represents to be therarest and scarcest of graces—"a faithful man who can find." I have come more than once

in hopes of holding a service, and found it was not possible through the extreme

weariness and pressure of the work in hand: and it was only last Sunday week that Ihad the opportunity I desire of being associated the first time, as today I have been,with men whose character and work I so much respect, and whose names deserve to behanded down to other ages than this as the constructors of one of the noblest fabrics theworld has witnessed, and of whose faithfulness I can bear record from my own ampleexperience.

Colonel Peile, R.B., the Director of State Railways, Western System, then rose and said

MR. PRESIDENT, MR. COMMSSIONER OF MOOLTAN, YOUR HIGHNERSS THE


NAWAB OF BAHWALPUR, LADIES AND GENTLMEN, —I am about to propose toyou a toast which I am sure will meet with the approbation of everyone here present;but especially to you gentlemen of the Public Works, whether serving underGovernment in the department, or on the Railway, do I look to support me heartily and

lustily. I stand here amongst you the oldest representative of the Public WorksDepartment during a career which has now extended nearly to a length of 80 years. Ihave witnessed many changes and the introduction of many novelties—all no doubtproduced by an earnest desire for the welfare of the department, but of which weperhaps were not always able to perceive the benefit. Amongst all these changes nonewas hailed with so much satisfaction by myself, and none I believe was so favorablywelcomed by the department at large, as that which gave us a responsible head to thedepartment, a Member of Council and a Minister of Public Works for ourselves.

Previously to this appointment it had been the lot of the department to have its affairstreated somewhat after the fashion of s shuttlecock in a game of badminton. At onetime, perhaps, the Viceroy himself would have us in hand, then we might be picked upby a cavalry officer, and anon a civilian would hit us a drive, and during the' process wecould not but feel that we were in the hands of men who did not always understand ourlittle ways, and who sometimes were supposed to look upon us with enmity mingledwith contempt, and to regard the department a very costly, if not an altogether useless,

encumbrance to the State. In the appointment of Sir Andrew Clarke to the post of PublicWorks Minister all these evil days have passed away. We have in him not only agentleman of the highest professional attainments and a distinguished politician, batabove all one who has been trained in the same school, has been molded in the samemould, and has passed through the same mill as ourselves. Now we all know that wehave a friend at Court. The man of humblest rank among us having a complaint tomake or grievance to be redressed, has a full assurance that his case will be studied anddisposed of in a calm, judicial spirit, tempered with great kindness. You, gentlemen,

who have been engaged on this great bridge,—and it is my good fortune to be able tonumber myself with you,—we, I say, must feel that His Excellency the Viceroy hasconferred on us s peculiar compliment in having selected Sir Andrew Clarke, the headof our department, to represent him on this occasion. Mr. President, ladies andgentlemen, I call on you now to join with me in drinking long life and prosperity to SirAndrew Clarke.

Sir Andrew Clarke in reply said he trusted that no undertaking would be judged until itwas completed ; that he was rejoiced to meet those whose interests he had at heart; andthat all should remember that in a Government little or nothing is known ofindividuals, but that the voice of the many speaks. lie knew what things he would do ifhe could, but they were very difficult to do. He knew that there never was, andprobably never would be, a feeling of perfect content, but he assured his hearers thatdevotedness in the past would undoubtedly bear fruit in a happy and successful future.This was the first occasion on which he had had the opportunity of publicly meeting

engineers. (Cheers.)


The President then proposed the health of the Nawab of Bahawalpur, and said that allwho knew him and had partaken of his hospitality, and seen the kind and carefulinterest he and Colonel Minchin, and afterwards Major Grey, took in the progress of the

work, must have formed a high opinion of him, and trusted that the bridge wouldprove advantageous to the Nawab and his nation, and that in the future the relationswith the Nawab would always be as friendly as they were at the present time. (Cheers.)Major Grey, who responded for the Nawab, said that His Highness requested him tosay how deeply he felt the compliments of Sir Andrew Clarke and Mr. Rayne; that hishouse was always loyal; that he regarded Her Majesty as his Empress; and that hewould always take a pleasure in assisting all schemes for the welfare of British subjectsand his own people. (Loud cheers.)

The President then proposed the health (amid loud cheers) of Colonel Graham, theCommissioner of Mooltan, who bad endeared himself to all, and whose approachingdeparture was so universally regretted. (Hear hear.)

Colonel Graham, in responding, stated that he felt convinced of the strategic importanceof the Indus Valley line; that it formed a link between Upper India and its seaboard;

was a highway from the sea to the North-Western Frontier, and was destined to play agreat part in history. (Cheers.)

Sir Andrew Clarke, in proposing the S. P. and D. Railway Company, said he hoped thepast would be forgotten, and that the Indus Valley line would shake hands with, andthank, the S. P. and D. Railway for its help; and that whether it should be left to the S. P.and D. Railway to make the missing link, or whether Government should find itnecessary to perform the work itself, there would always be good feeling and

cooperation between the two lines.

Mr. Ross returned thanks, and congratulated the Government on their success at theSutlej, and wished them the same success at Sukkur. He looked to a large grain trafficon the line.

This closed the proceedings, and at about 4-30 the special train started back for

Mooltan, where it was timed to arrive at 6-20. A large dinner was given at CaptainSparkes' house, at which about 60 sat down, including Sir Andrew Clarke and otherofficials who had been present during the day. The special left Mooltan about 11 o'clockand was timed to reach Lahore at 2 o'clock on Sunday morning.

All those concerned are to be congratulated on the arrangements made, and so wellcarried out. The heat was, as may be imagined, somewhat overpowering; thethermometer standing at 116° in the centre of the carriage, and when at the window at

134°. There were in addition to the gainer a dinner to the subordinates, two feasts for


the natives, and 300 maunds of sweetmeats distributed among the native workmen, ofwhom there were some 5,000 or 6,000 employed.

Mr. Bell, the engineer in charge of the bridge, and to whom so much praise is due for

his successful efforts at pushing on the work, is, I understand, taking a rest that he hasso justly earned, and is proceeding home on leave.

The bridge is now open for traffic, and one more triumph of engineering skill, one moreinstance of the all-conquering power, of indomitable perseverance, when backed bygenius; one more monument to hand to future ages as demonstrating the condition ofscience and mechanical aptitude of this nineteenth century; one more link in the chainof civilization and improvement, which we forget about all our territories, is finished;

the result of months of thought and years of labor is completed, and given to thepublic—and the Empress Bridge is open. May it be a success; may its military usesnever be brought into play, but rather let us hope that it will serve to connect togetherthe different branches of our empire, to be a means of diffusing Christianity andcivilization, of extending commerce, and facilitating the journey home to the oldcountry, so dear to all Indians.


APPENDIX B.

Note on the Indus Floods, with reference to the Indus Valley State Railway. By MajorJ. G. Forbes, R. E., Superintending Engineer on special duty.

The absence of sufficient reliable data makes it a peculiarly difficult matter to offer anyopinion on the best method of dealing with the floods of the Indus. The facts, however,

mentioned in the Flood Reports of 1875 and 1876, together with those noted during theflood of 1878, show that on the left bank of the river, between the confluence of theChenab and the narrow pass at Bhakkar, there are four main or primary spills whichcross the Railway near Naushahra, Mirpur, Ghotki and Sangi. On a map showing theoriginal surveys made for the Railway, 15 or 18 years ago, these four spills are distinctlymarked; thus denoting they are, not casual, or secondary, spills like those mentioned innext paragraph ; but that their positions may be looked upon as comparatively fixed,and not liable to any very sudden alteration.

2. Besides these four main spills, the Indus, like other rivers, floods over its banks,sometimes in one spot and sometimes in another, according to the set of the stream, andattacks the Railway at uncertain places between Kot Samaba and Rohri, along the wholeof which distance (120 miles) the line is carried through the flooded tract.

3. Taking up the Index Map of the Indus Valley State Railway, we can see that from

Mithankot to about 20 miles above Kusmore the country through which the Indus flowsmust have a steady fall from the hills to the Bahawalpur desert, as this is clearlyevidenced by the trend of the hill streams, which flow perpendicularly towards theriver on the right bank; and by the absence of inundation canals on that bank betweenMithankot and Kusmore. That this slope is continued on the left bank is also shown bythe course of the Bahawalpur canals, which, following the natural slope of the country,run roughly perpendicular to the stream of the river. When the Indus arrives at a shortdistance above Kusmore, it can be seen that the slope in the country at once changes.

Instead of running down direct at right angles from one side only of the river, it spreadsout diagonally on both sides like a fan, which is slightly squeezed on the right, but moreopened out on the left. This then would lead us to expect that while the flood betweenMithankot and Kusmore would come more directly on to the Railway, the number ofprimary spills would probably be less than from Rumors downwards. This conclusionis borne out by the fact that in the upper portion there is only one main spill, viz., atNaushahra; whereas in the lower portion of the river to Sukkur, which is about the

same length as the upper, there are five, viz., two on the right bank at Kusmore andBegari, and three on the left, at Mirpur, Ghotki and Sangi.

4. The construction of any long line of embankment will at once alter existingconditions. The practical effect of long embankments is to raise the high water mark,


and to slightly increase the caving of banks;* thus inducing larger floods, not only at theprimary and secondary points, but also the formation of spills at places not previouslyattacked.

5. An embankment has within the last few years been made for a length of 41 milesalong the left bank of the Chenab, from the junction of the Sutlej to the confluence of theformer river with the Indus. This embankment effectually protects the ground behind it;and also probably conduced last year to prevent the floods, as formerly, attacking theRailway above got Samaba. It is proposed to extend the embankment still further downthe Indus; but if this is done, the increased volume, which is now expended in spill, willundoubtedly cause the river, which already has a great tendency to do so, from beingabove the natural level of the ground, to burst through its banks lower down in a

greater number of spots, and with much more force than it now does. As it is utterlyimpracticable to construct continuous lines of embankments along the whole length ofthe Indus from Mithankot to the sea, it is evident that any extension of the Bahawalpurembankment will only save a small portion of country at the expense of a much largerarea lower down; and that the more the embankment is extended, in a constantlyincreasing ratio will the country below be swamped, especially where the change ofslope occurs near Kusmore. There can, therefore, I think, be no doubt that the

Bahawalpur embankment should not be extended.

6. The accompanying table shows the height of flood levels, in 1878, along theRailway, from mile 150 to mile 220.

Nearest Station. Mile. R. L. of flood. Fall per mile.Kot Samaba 150 278.50Naushahra 150 278.00 .55 Average fall .61 per

170 287.60 .54 mile.

Sadikabad 180 258.90 .69184 258.40 .62

........................ AHMADWAH CANAL.

(See the Report dated 18th January, 1875, of Commission of Engineers appointed toinvestigate and report on a plan for the reclamation of the basin of the Mississippi river,

subject to inundation. This Commission was composed of Major General Warren, U. S.H., President, Brigadier-General Abbot, U. S. E., Major Benyaurd, U. S. E., and Messrs.Sickles and Hebert, Members. The Report was submitted through Brigadier GeneralHumphreys, U. S. E., who stated that the views of the Commission met with his fullconcurrence.


Nearest Station. Mile. R. L. of flood. Fall per mile.255.30 .38 Probably affected

Walhar 190 253.00 .60 by back-water

Reti 200 247.00 .77 from lower spill.

207 241.60 Level .54Khairpur 210 241.50 .69Mirpur 220 288.00 .39

7. Between Kot Samaba and Khairpur the line was breached in numerous places,especially between miles 154 and 178; but the greatest strain was from mile 165 to mile166. A reference to the Flood Reports of 1876 will show that it was at these places alsowhere the heavy burst of the upper or Naushahra flood was experienced. It will be

noticed also, in the above table, that where the Ahmadwah Canal crosses the Railway,there is a sudden drop of three feet in the flood level, the water on the north side of thecanal bank being 258.40, and that on the south 255.30. For the six miles below the canalthe surface elope of the flood is only .88 per mile, being probably affected by the back-water of the secondary spill near Reti, against an average of .61, for the 34 milesimmediately above it; but in the next 10 miles it again resumes this normal slope. Thesudden drop (which was also noticed in the flood of 1876, vide para. 10 of Executive

Engineer, Reti Division's letter No. 1277, dated 8th September, 1876) and the alterationin, and eventual resumption of, the regular flood slope, shows that the canal kept theupper floods entirely distinct from those lower down. It would therefore apparently beadvisable to take advantage of the circumstance, and still further strengthen the bank ofthe canal, if there is any fear of its being breached, so as completely to isolate theNaushahra from the lower floods ; especially now that the thorough reconstruction ofthe Kusmore bund will throw more water on these spills. If free exit is given throughthe Railway to the upper floods, they will pass off by the old river-bed, which run

parallel to the line at a lower level, and be absorbed in the desert. I concur therefore inthe recommendation that this portion of the line should be raised and the waterwaysincreased; but the amount recommended, viz., 85 lineal feet per mile, is, I think,inadequate.

8. I have not sufficient data to show the actual amount discharged through theRailway last year, or the possible quantity of flood that might have to be provided for;

but on the East Indian Railway, where it crosses the Sone floods, which have adischarge of 165,000 cubic feet per second on the left bank of the river, 296 lineal feet(2871 superficial feet) of waterway per mile has been clearly proved to be insufficient.On the right bank, however, where the floods amount to 65,000 cubic feet per second, awaterway of 153 lineal feet (949 superficial feet) has been found effectually to dischargethe spill. In the former case the average depth of water is 9.70 feet, and approaches witha velocity, due to a fall in the country, of two feet a mile; in the latter, the depth is 6.20feet, and the slope about one foot per mile.


There is nearly as much uncertainty on the Sone as on the Indus, where the floods willfirst attack the Railway. The points of attack of the primary or main spills, which arealmost invariably marked out by local depressions, are known; but floods do notalways come down these main spills in force, the secondary spills, which generally in

floods of any duration find their way into the depressions of the main spills, are often atfirst of as great violence as the main floods, and rush on the Railway at totallyunexpected places. As long as the bank is not overtopped, and a sufficient aggregateamount of waterway is given in the flooded tract, the effect is that the water is poundedup for a greater length of time in local spots, and that greater work has to be performedby the flood openings lower down; all of which of course must be protected towithstand the extra scour that may be thus induced. In the Sone floods of 1876, on theEast Indian Railway, there were three bridges on the left bank of the river, and two on

the right, absolutely dry. In the former high floods of 1864 and 1867, these bridges haddischarged very considerable amounts of water, but, on the other hand, waterwayswhich had done no work in the former years were in 1876 running with a velocity of 14feet and upwards.

9. The conditions of the right spills of the Sone approximate to the upper Indusfloods; where, however, apparently the depth and slope are somewhat less, i.e., the

direct transverse slope from the river to the Railway is only about 0.75 per mile.Allowing for differences, it would not be safe to accept less than 120 lineal feet averagewaterway per mile as a minimum on the Indus Valley Railway between Kot Samabaand Reti.

10. It is true that in addition to the 85 lineal feet per mile of waterway recommended,it is pro-posed that long paved causeways for the escape of heavy floods should be putin, thus evidently showing that more waterway is considered necessary. But this

proposal is saddled with the proviso that it is only to be done if the causeways "can beconstructed at reasonable cost, and that sites can be found where they would act withefficiency." With all due deference, I submit that the construction of these causewayswill be interpreted as an open admission of the failure of the line as originally projected.The Indus Valley Railway was taken along its present alignment with the fullknowledge that the floods would have to be combated, and I presume that no alterationhas been made in the original intention of its being a permanent and not a simple fair-

weather line. Putting aside the obvious disadvantages, both public and private, whichwill be entailed by the detention of trains, and totally ignoring the comments which willbe occasioned thereby, it appears to me that once we admit causeways, we admitweakness and invite disaster.

11. The question of expense was, I take for granted, fully considered by Governmentwhen it was determined to lead a railway through the flooded tract, which so palpablymight easily have been avoided. After an expenditure of six millions, the difference is

comparatively so trifling between putting in permanent and temporary openings, that I


have no hesitation in recommending the former, especially as I believe they will befound cheaper in the end.

12. There remains the doubt about the site of these openings. In the conclusions of

the Committee held at Sukkur on the 23rd November, 1878, the places where the floodattacks the Railway between Khairpur and Rohri have been accepted as fixed, judgingby the fact that nothing more is apparently required than the filling in of holes belowbridges. If the sites in this part of the line, which is more difficult to deal with than theupper, can thus be definitely accepted; in the upper portion surely there cannot be suchan absolute uncertainty as to preclude permanent openings being built, especially afterthe experience gained in, at least, three great floods. The existence of "depressions,""great depressions," "low ground," &c., is continually spoken of in the reports of

different officers as places where the floods came down ; in some cases the banks werebreached, and in others the water was turned off laterally until it found vent in bridgesor culverts lower down; the velocity through which was enormous, 18 or nearly 19 feetper second having been measured in one case. One certainly of these great depressions(the Hadd Dhora, in the Ghotki Division) was entirely embanked across, and the spillwhich came down it completely shut off at the request of the Civil Officers. In 1876 thebank was breached, and 200 lineal feet of waterway put in, but other marked

depressions may exist which still are embanked or inadequately provided with ventage.These facts would point to the conclusion that permanent sites can be obtained at onceby extending the present flood waterways, and opening new ones, if necessary, at the"Dhunds," "Dhoras," and other well known localities where floods constantly come

down or accumulate.

13. On the grounds above stated, I am of opinion that in lieu of 85 lineal feetwaterway per mile, plus temporary flood gaps, it will be better at once to put in

permanent waterways, aggregating at least 120 lineal feet per mile, not scattered aboutin small and danger provoking vents, but concentrated as much as possible ineffectually large flood passages.

14. With reference to the lower part of the line, the effect of a practically continuousbund from Kusmore to Sukkur must be to raise the flood level, induce fresh sets, andincrease the spill on the left bank. This of course could be counteracted by a parallel

embankment; but the danger attendant to Sukkur and the villages below, as well as tothe Railway between Sukkur and Larkana, would put this project out of the question.As it is, the Husmore bund may appreciably increase the affiux already existing in highfloods at the narrow pass at Sukkur. This amount of increase is easily capable ofcalculation, but the data to determine it have not, as far as I am aware, been collectedyet. In a similar case on the Ganges near Rampur Bauleah, which was most carefullyworked out two years ago (by Mr. A. J. Hughes, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Branch,Bengal) on extensive and very accurate surveys and levels, it was found, I think (I have

not my notes to refer to) that the effect of an embankment 80 or 90 miles in length along


one side of the river to shut out a spill of upwards of 200,000 cubic feet per secondwould probably be to raise the height of the flood two feet at the lower end of theembankment. Taking this as an approximate guide, and allowing roughly for thedifference in the slopes, and, number of curvatures, also far the lesser spill and length of

embankment, it certainly would not be safe to accept less than one foot as the increasedheight of a maximum flood wave below Ghotki, and an increase of some inches in theaffiux at the pass. To mitigate the effect of this possible increase then, the spill must bepassed off through the Railway as quickly as possible; and if this is done effectually, Isee no reason why the affiux at Sukkur should not remain unaltered.

15. Referring back to the table shown in para. 6, it will be seen that from mile 190 tomile 200 the flood surface is still 0.60 per mile, or the same as in the 84 miles above the

Ahmadwah, but in the next seven miles it is suddenly increased to .77; it then remainsperfectly level for three miles to Khairpur, and in the next 10 miles to Mirpur the slopeis only .36 per mile. The section does not extend below this point.

The cause of the surface level being horizontal has been ascribed to the large amount ofcultivation near Khairpur, but this can scarcely account for it; nor does it afford a key tothe reason why the slope should be suddenly increased from Reti to near Khairpur, and

again very materially reduced below. An easier explanation will possibly be found if weremember that just above B.eti the junction takes place between the perpendicular anddiagonal slopes from the river; near Khairpur the Railway begins to curve round, andfor the three miles where the flood surface is level, is probably nearly parallel to theedge of the fan which spreads out from its apex above Kusmore; from Khairpur toMirpur the line probably does not follow the circumference, but is slightly inclinedupwards to it, hence the alteration in the flood levels.

16. This, combined with the fact that at Reti the distinctive flood tract is entered onboats (used to ply from Reti to Sukkur over the inundated ground), and that it is herethat the large and well defined "Dhunds" commence to be more marked, would signify

that any alteration in the regimen of the river near Kusmore (especially noting the benddue south of Kusmore from which a primary spill occurs) will be peculiarly left belowReti and near Mirpur.

17. At present the average amount of waterway allowed between Reti and Sukkur is190 lineal feet per mile. In the section between Reti and Barbed, from mile 200 to mile230, I would strongly advocate a further extension so as to bring up the amount to atleast 250 lineal feet per mile, as much as possible in large flood openings, notably in thevicinity of Mirpur. Between Sarhad and Rohri, or from mile 280 to mile 270, we knowthere are at present two main spills, besides many secondary ones, the numbers andeffect of which will in time be increased by the action of the Kusmore bund. Taking thisinto account, as well as the present inefficiency of the ventage given, it is evident that

the waterways in this section must also be materially increased. Probably they will have


to be brought up to a minimum of 800 lineal feet per mile—an amount which is notsufficient to pass off the left Sone floods (para. 8) without a considerable heading up.Besides the large opening which will be required for the Ghotki spill (unless there is anyfear of the river breaking across the line there), a very large increase will have to be

made at Sangi; judging from the fact that the waterway already existing there wasevidently greatly too small for the flood of last year, as below every one of the five largebridges near the station, enormous holes extending to 40 and 50 feet in depth wereformed.

18. It will be seen that the total amount of waterway that probably is required, atpresent in the 120 miles of flooded country through which the Indus Valley Railway istaken on the left bank of the river, is 25,500 lineal feet, or very nearly 5 miles, viz.:—

From Rot Samaba to Red, 50 miles, ® 120 feet per mile, or about 4 percent of ventage onthe length of line between Kot Samaba and Rohri—an amount which cannot beconsidered excessive under existing conditions. Whether this amount will eventually beconsidered sufficient, time alone will show. The allowance proposed is admittedlyempirical, bat it is founded on the East Indian Railway experience of 20 years, duringwhich period three maximum floods have occurred in the Bone, attacking the line in a

length of 26 miles. Whatever is done now on the Indus Valley Railway must to a certainextent be tentative. The total amount of waterway .now provided between Kot Samabaand Sukkur is about 16,000 lineal feet, which was recommended by the SukkurConference to be increased to 17,700 lineal feet, supplemented by flood causewaysbetween Kot Samba and Khairpur.

Feet.From Kot Sambha to Reti 50 miles @ 120 feet per mile 6,000Reti to Sarhad, 80 miles @ 250 feet per mile 7,500

Sarhad to Rohri, 40 miles @ 300 feet per mile 12,000Total, 120 miles 25,500

19. Coming now to the question of the Kasimpur band, I would certainly deprecate itsextension to Pano Akil, unless there is any immediate fear of the Indus, as I see noted inone of the reports, deserting its course for the Nerve. Taking into consideration the extrarise which may be expected in the floods, and the danger of permitting this rise to affect

the river at Sukkur, it would be inexpedient to prolong the bund, and thus tend toaggravate, although, perhaps, only to a slight extent, the affiux already existing. Thebest method of meeting the difficulty would be, as already suggested, by opening outsufficiently large waterways higher up in the Railway, in order to pass off the extra spillthat may be induced by the Kusmore bund, in addition to the extraordinary floodswhich now come down the river. If the floorings of the flood openings in the Railwayare kept up to a proper level and efficiently protected, I see no reason to apprehendtheir being turned into ducts for a permanent change of the river. These openings will

only come into play when the river rises to a certain height, and will cease to act when


the flood falls below the river banks; and as long as the floorings and their protectionexist, there can be no fear of the channel scouring back to the main stream, especially ifthe slope from the river to the level of the flooring is made less than that of thelongitudinal flood surface down the river.

20. On the right bank of the Indus, the chief point of danger appears to be in the 10miles of line, from mile 400 to mile 410 between Bhan and Sehwan, where the Kusmoreand Begari spills, added to by the dalli spill below Sukkur, unite with the Cutchee Hilltract torrents, and after filling and overflowing the Manchur Lake burst across theRailway in enormous force. Outepills from the Kusmore and Begari floods, alsocombining with the Jalli spill, encroach on the Railway below Ruk.

The Kusmore bund will now keep out the two former floods, and an extension of theJalli bund would apparently keep out the latter; but on this point I cannot venture tooffer an opinion, as I did not have an opportunity of meeting the SuperintendingEngineer for Irrigation in &lade, in whose charge are the embankments ; and in theabsence of local knowledge and information, it is impossible to say whether it would beadvisable to extend the bund. If it was done, however, there would remain only thefloods due to the hill streams and the overflow of the Manchur Lake to be provided for.

Anyhow between Bhan and Sehwau it would be expedient to allow the full amount ofwaterway indicated as necessary by the flood of last year, and to raise the line at andbelow Ruk.

Lahore.20th February, 1879.


APPENDIX C.

Extract from Annual Report 1877-78 giving some account of the method of erecting theironwork of the Empress' Bridge.

"Six sets of timber staging have been put together for the erection of the girders, andhave been so far used, that, at the end of the year under review, only 2 spans awaited

the erection of stagings. Each stage consists of 20 four-poet tressles, 10 feet square and18 feet high. In moving the stages each tressle complete is skidded along a line of railsfroth its old to its new site; 10 such tressles, with nine spans of 17 feet intervening, formone side that is one-half of a stage. The beams of the spans, when in place, are braced tothe tressles, the outer lines of beams and posts coming vertically under the wheels ofthe travelling crane. The inner lines of beams and posts are directly under the girders tobe erected, and the spacing adopted brings each inner post vertically under the camberblocks on which the girders are built. A stage contains about 8,000 cubic feet of timber,

and can be dismantled, removed, and re-erected in seven working days.

In all but the three water spans, the stages rest on a substructure of sand, filled to adepth in two instances of over 24 feet. The very considerable embankment thus formed,contains close on 20 lakhs of earth work, and carries not only the stages, but a servicetramway on either side of them.

At the end of the floods of 1877, the river had one branch running parallel with the lineof the pier points above bridge, and crossing obliquely between piers C and G, whilethe other branch crossed the piers directly at N, 0, and P. To provide ground for thestages, the first named branch was entirely closed, this work demanded much patientskill and careful watching when threatened, as it so often was, by unexpected freshetsin November, December and January.

Sorting of the girder ironwork is effected on sloping platforms having a descent from

the line on which broad gauge wagons arrive, down to the line along which low trolliestake out the pieces; each span of girder is unloaded on its own platform, and each classof piece of girder, on its own section of platform or skid. Each class of piece is thusmade accessible to the trollies, and a single shunting operation with these, brings anyindividual piece into the order in which it is required to ascend the staging.

On the sorting platform all packings and temporary rivets are cut out, and each main

piece has all its small loose accessories bolted on, in order to reduce the number ofhoisting operations to a minimum. These operations have more than kept pace with thearrivals, and foreign wagons arriving in the day, are invariably returned next morning.


In erecting, the trollies are run up to the top of the stages by a temporary rampedsiding, connected with a line along the stage between the camber blocks and thetravelling cranes.

The four Wellington cranes are those purchased from the Punjab Northern StateRailway, 36 feet span and 85 feet high. The longitudinal, traversing, and hoistingmotions of the cranes are all effected by hand gear; and the latest results, with onecrane, are, that a span is erected, and ready for rivetting in from sit to working days.This includes hoisting 400 tons of permanent ironwork, 100 tons of light rails forscaffolding, and some 150 tons of sleepers and other timbers in the rivetter's platforms.

The rivetting is now fairly well done, but much trouble was experienced in training the

men to knock down' inch rivets. Bombay, Bengal, the North-West, Scinde and thePunjab, all contribute to the present working staff. The former two classes are too feeblefor this heavy work.

The Scindees proved inferior and intractable workmen, and some of the Punjabeesdisplay an unsatisfactory knowledge of the art of caulking a slack rivet to make itappear tight. But they, and the men from the North-West Provinces, are the best hands

we have on the work. Bad holding up is the worst failing of all, and great credit is dueto the officers for patiently training their men, and for many ingenious adaptations oftools to suit particular circumstances.

The delivery of ironwork has not quite kept pace with the erection, arid for the 8 spansnot begun on 1st April, parts of two sets of ironwork were incomplete on the ground,and one (from Karachi) has not begun to arrive; indeed, has not yet left Kotri. In 10months the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Flotilla has delivered 2 spans at Hamdi and 4 at

Gobla, but, had all gone to Hamdi, even this small result would have been still lees. Of 9spans sent by Bombay and Calcutta, all but portions of two are on the ground, and therest will be here in a few days.

The principal works supplementary to the bridge proper are the temporary pile bridge,and the protective works.

The temporary bridge of last year, after being breached and repaired in February, lastedtill the beginning of July, and was of immense use to these works, and to the line atlarge.

In October of the present year, a new temporary bridge was begun and completed in afew weeks, but unfortunately was scoured out before there was time to protect its bed.

The conditions of pile bridges in this river are—(a), That piles can only be driven 12 or

15 feet in the sand at all; (b), That where the bed is not protected with atone or brick, it


will scour the whole depth of a pile in a few hours during a freshet; and (c), That if thebed be protected beforehand, the piles cannot be driven in it at all.

It follows that if a fresh comes during the construction of the pile bridge, or so soon

after as leaves the protection of the floor incomplete, the work is bound to fail. In thisway the bridge of this year failed three several times, and had ultimately to beabandoned in favor of a new site, which only became feasible for a bridge owing to theprotective bund having advanced more than half a mile into the water since the first sitewas chosen.

The present temporary bridge was opened on the 14th March 1878, by the passage ofHis Honor the Lieut. Governor of the Punjab's Special Train over it. As an instance of

quick work, it may be stated that one week before this train crossed, 16 spans of 20 feethad first been washed out by a fresh, and were re-constructed in sit days, and theremaining 21 spans completed.

The protective works of the left bank have made excellent progress. The new part of themain bund is now some 4 or 5 feet above water, and will be complete in 8 months.Although the strength and solidity of this bund are such that it may fairly be expected

to resist all attacks of the river, still, the height of the great sand bank which overlies theup-stream face of the bridge is so considerable, that it can only be overtopped by anexcessive flood, and then only to a small extent. This means great constriction of thedeep stream up against the band, and in 2 or 8 spans of the bridge, at the south end,during floods. To avoid or alleviate this, two canals each of 150 feet in width, have beencut through the sand bank and down to low-water level. The set even if neither of themsucceeds in diverting the channel, will certainly afford an escape for a considerableportion of the floods when they come.

The workshops have received a great access of work during the financial year from thevery considerable number of locomotive engines brought upon the line. It is useless torecapitulate in detail the work of the year, but it would be wrong not to call attention tothe unostentatious solid work done in this branch.

In temporary bridges, stages, erecting girders, and especially in rivetting, an almost

fabulous quantity of bolts, tools, and ironwork of all kinds, is always being urgentlywanted, and by different sub-divisions at the same time. To this must be added therequirements of locomotive and wagon work and a mass of undertakings for otherdivisions.

Both these departments have well maintained their efficiency, and now control some 22locomotives, and over 400 vehicles, exclusive of trollies."


APPENDIX ,D.

Copy of letter No. 5118, dated 20th April 1878, from the Engineer-in-Chief, Indus TalleyState Railway, to the Director of State Railways, Western System.

I have the honour to report the occurrence of a very unusual, indeed as far as ourrecords inform us, an unprecedented flood in the Sutlej, on the 17th and 18th instant.

2. The river began to rise during the night between the 16th and 17th, and reachedits highest during the forenoon of the 18th. At 4 o'clock on that day, the water beganslowly to recede from its maximum of 374.85, but next day (yesterday) at 2 P.M. it hadonly gone down to 873.20. The earliest date on which such a flood has before happenedis 25th June 1871.

3. The cause of this flood is of course not snow water. Heavy rain in the valley ofthe Sutlej in the mountains accounts for it. Of this, however, we had no warning till theconsequences became apparent at Phillour and Beak when the telegraph informed us onthe evening of the lath, that about a 4 feet flood might be expected in due course.

4. Every preparation was at once made. Trains carrying protective material worked

day and night from Alubsrakpur and Hamdi. All the ironwork of the Sutlej girder span,which owing to the long delay in getting the last span up the river from Kotri, had to betaken across from the north to the south bank, was passed over the temporary bridge,one train alone remaining, which when about to cross had to be stopped, the bridgeshowing signs of yielding.

5. That a flood of nearly 6 feet, instead of the one of 4 feet expected, had to beencountered, is probably due to rain-fall below Phillour and Bess, but the addition was

likely to have been fatal to our temporary works, which could not I had thought standanything over a 4 feet 6 inches flood.

6. Thanks however to the original stability of these structures, and thecompleteness of the measures taken to strengthen and protect them, no damagewhatever has been suffered beyond that already alluded to, by the temporary bridge,four or five of the pile piers of which having been under-scoured have so much settled

and gone out of line as to require renewal, a work of a few days only.

7. The piled stage for the erection of the span PQ, through which the bulk of theriver passes, stood perfectly notwithstanding the enormous rush of water through it,


the initial velocity of which, about 6 miles an hour, being increased by an efflux of about2 feet caused by the obstruction offered by the piles and their bracings.

8. Constant soundings were taken as well as the terrible force of the water

permitted, and protective material thrown in as scour manifested itself about anyparticular pile, an average depth of 40 feet of water throughout the bay beingmaintained, though with great difficulty. This left from 15 to 25 feet of the piles still inthe ground and what with this, and the completeness of the bracing, the result was thatwhile standing on the stage during the height of the flood, when the corbel piecesresting on the cap sills of the pile-heads, were immersed and the beams above themawash—hardly a tremor could be felt.

9. No settlement took place, but the force of the water pressing with such leverageagainst the piles, and the immersed portion of the superstructure caused the staging todeviate about 2½ inches from the true line down-stream, without however in any wayaffecting its strength.

10. This slight deviation it will be remembered is that resulting at the top of thestaging which rests on the heads of the piles, and is consequently some 25 feet above the

water and between 80 and 90 feet above the pile shoes.

11. When you were at Mooltan a few days ago, and the subject of risk to the girdersremaining to be erected over the two water spans was under discussion, I informed youwhat was the intended programme of operations in the event of a flood, and thatprogramme was followed.

12. The bottom booms of the span PQ were in the act of being hauled into place,

when the telegraph informed Mr. Bell of the coming flood, and the work was at oncestopped, every effort being directed to making the position safe.

13. The span NO had fortunately just been rivetted up, and the wedges struck;consequently the flood could not have come at a more fortunate time, since none of theironwork was for a moment in any danger.

14. The stage PQ was stiffened with chains and protected with cubes and stone asalready described. The temporary bridge was chained together for its whole length andanchored securely, so that if swept away, it should not be carried down to the staging ofthe spans PQ and OP, every part being lashed to the longitudinal chains.

15. When the river rose beyond the calculated 4 feet, the bunds were cut, by whichthe stream had been forced to leave its course along the axis of the bridge, and itimmediately began to follow its old bend, thus relieving the piled water spans, though

not the temporary bridge. By the afternoon of the 17th the flood had increased so much


that it became necessary to open the cut recently made across the sand spit. This drewoff a stream of 150 feet in width by 5 feet in depth, relieving both the temporary bridgeand the piled spans, and it was hoped would have sufficed, a very early abatement ofthe flood being expected. But next morning so far from there being any such abatement

the river was still continuing to rise, and the second cut alongside the Adamwahanshore was also opened, with the effect of drawing off another volume of water similarto that in the first cut.

16. The effect of these measures was apparent in an evident reduction in the force ofthe current through the piled spans, and no further change took place till the waterbegan to recede on the evening of the 18th.

17. I need not say it was an anxious time for all of us, not indeed because any of thepermanent works or girder material were for a moment in danger, but because failureof the temporary works would have meant probable failure to complete the bridge thisseason; as it is, I believe, that if the river remain quiet for a month, there will be a delayof no more than 10 or 12 days in the finishing of the bridge.

18. Vast quantities of stores and plant were removed from the river bed during the

space between the warning and the coming of the flood, and I believe nothing has beenlost, unless it be a few Belgian 20 kilo. rails used about the staging, and the value ofwhich is very small.

19. Mr. Bell and all his staff worked day and night with the energy and devotionwhich have been so often called for from them during the progress of the great workupon which they have been engaged, and which is now so near a successful completion.Copy V letter No. 7148, dated 14th Taste 1878, from the Engineer-in-ale, Indus Trolley

State Railway, to the Director of State Railways, Western System.

In reply to your No. 2434W., dated 9th May 1878, forwarding copy of Government ofIndia, Public Works Department letter No. 1632R., dated 2nd idem, calling for anexplanation of the circumstance that the erection of the girders over the water spans ofthe Sutlej Bridge was delayed so long as to involve a certain amount of risk from therising of the river, I have the honor to submit copy of a letter No. 1439, dated 15th May

1878, and its accompanying memorandum from the Superintendent of Works, Mr. Bell,which latter will I think be found to afford all the information required, and establishconclusively that the procedure followed in the erection of the girders was the only onepracticable under the circumstances.

2. Briefly the explanation is as follows:

When the first span of girders arrived on 5th November last, and it became necessary

to put erection in hand at once, the water spans through which the deep river ran, could


not be undertaken, firstly, because the piers were not then built; secondly, because theriver was too high, and the current too violent through those spans to allow of evenpreliminary works being begun, as piling, which night otherwise have gone onconcurrently with the building of the piers.

3. The floods and freshes repeated throughout the cold weather delayed thecompletion of one of these piers P, till the end of February, its foundations upon thewell-heads having been three times destroyed.

4. Nothing could be done during this period in the water spans owing to theviolence of the river, but every effort was made to push forward girder erection overthe spans next to them on the Adamwshan side, with a view to at least a partial

diversion of the river under them, and thus to relieve the pressure of the stream on baysOP and PQ.

5. This could not be done in time to be of any use, the river having destroyed thereclamation works in span NO twice, and threatened to break through by the backchannel on the Adamwahan side, by following an old bed which runs parallel with theaxis of the bridge and just above it.

6. As such a contingency would have been disastrous in the extreme, if not fatal tothe completion of the bridge this season, it became necessary at all costs to prevent theriver getting in that direction, and this was effected by means of bands difficult ofconstruction and difficult afterwards to remove.

7. Their effect was, while preserving the ground on which all the girders from O toB were to be put up, necessarily to confine the river to the two water spans in which its

deep bed was already placed.

8. The circumstances above described so far delayed the erection of the span NO,that it was not completed till 17th April, long before which time all ides of being able todivert the river at all had been abandoned, and indeed the span PQ had been piled, itsstage erected, and but for the known approach of the flood, the occurrence of whichwas reported in my No. 5118, dated 20th April 1878, would have had some girder

ironwork upon it.

9. Thus the piling of the water spans as soon as it became inevitable that recoursemust be had to that process, an eventuality always contemplated, was undertakenwithout the loss of a day, and the best efforts of the Staff were directed to thecompletion of what was in itself a most arduous and difficult task, the pitching anddriving in water from 80 to 65 feet deep running at great velocity, of four rows of pilesfrom 60 to 70 feet long. That these efforts were completely successful I need not now

say.


10. The risk incurred, as very striking events have proved, was amply providedagainst by the precautions taken, and if we had the same work to do again and underthe same circumstances, I can only say that I should do it again in the same way.

11. As a matter of fact there was no time during the six months that sufficed for thecompletion of the heavy work of erecting the Sutlej girders from beginning to end, thatthe spans over the deep river could, as the season turned out, have been put up withoutrisk, nay, had it been possible by reason of their piers being built in time, to have begunupon those spans in November, it is far from improbable that they would then havebeen exposed to greater danger than they were subsequently in April and May; for wecould not then have known what great precautions the abnormal behavior of the river

would require; and trusting to the immunity from floods looked for during the coldweather, it is likely—certain, indeed, that all the manifold precautions taken in Aprilwould not then have been thought necessary.

Copy of letter No. 1489, dated 15th May 1878, from the Superintendent of Works,Empress Bridge Division, to the Engineer-in-Chief Indus Valley State Railway.

In announcing for the information of the Director, that the last of these girders waserected on the 9th instant, I have the honor to forward a Memo. on the subject of theerection which may possibly serve to refresh your memory, and to put the whole matterdefinitely on record.

2. Mr. James Tait, Assistant Engineer, now 1st grade temporary, was in charge of thesteps taken for erecting girders last season while employed in your office. He wassucceeded in this charge by Mr. G. Moyle, Assistant Engineer, 2nd grade, who erected

the 1st span of the first sub-division, the 6 spans of the second sub-division, andBahawalpur abutment span, Mr. Tait on his return completed the remaining 6 spans ofthe first sub-division, the Adamwahan abutment span, and finally with Mr. Moyle'smen and his own, the two water spans. Mr. B. Baxter, now temporary let gradeAssistant Engineer, erected both temporary bridges, carried out the sand filling from Ato O, made and maintained the various dams and bunds, and the breakwater. Mr. W. O.Hennessey bas supervised the protection from scour of the staging piles.

3. The Subordinates worthy of mention are—

Mr. Le Desmasurea, Sub-Storekeeper, 1st grade, Divisional Storekeeper.Mr. M. Maclnerney, Sub-Engineer, 2nd grade, and Mr. T. Machinery, TemporaryOverseer, 1st grade.Mr. G. Winmill, Sub-Engineer, 2nd grade. Workshops.Mr. T. Macpherson, Sub-Engineer, 3rd grade, all rivetting.

Azis-ad-din, Overseer, let grade, lines, levels and protection.


Baba Kristonanth Banerjee, Overseer, 2nd grade, earthwork and bands.Nur Mahomed, Sub-Overseer, temporary bridge-work.Mr. T. Sharrocks, Foreman, on erection only.

4. The works establishment men of most note are—

Mr. J. W. DeSilva,Mr. C. A. Hex,Mr. C. Smith,Mr. D. O. Shaughnessey,Mr. Girdlestone,Safer Ali,

Narain Singh,

MEMORANDIM

On the order in which the spans of the quad Bridge were erected and the reasons for thearrangements adopted.

1. When spans began to arrive in November it was known that not more than 8 ofthe 16 spans could possibly reach here, cid Karachi in time for this season. As a matterof fact after landing the material at Sukkur, and using all the resources of the line tosupplement the defects of the Flotilla, the 7th span rid Karachi only reached here on

May 4th, and quite a month after 9 spans had come the other way.

2. Government had telegraphed orders to divert those still unshipped from Karachito Calcutta, but it was matter of uncertainty whether all would arrive in time, and it wasquite possible that even if shipped in time and to Calcutta instead of Karachi, one ormore spans might not have been lost at sea.

3. The information received later on that as many as 3 spans, or parts of 3 spans

were loaded in one ship, showed that the risk of disasters at sea were actually greaterthan it would have been in our power to repair.

4. The earlier spans from Karachi, and all spans from Calcutta and Bombay, wouldnecessarily arrive on the Adamwahan side of the river, and as will be seen below, thisside was the only one from which operations were possible at the beginning of theseason.

5. To meet the clear possibility of all the spans not arriving, it was determined fromthe beginning that the two abutment spans should be left untouched, until all ironwork


was known to be certainly in the country, and probably available here in good time.This decision was based on the fact that the spans indicated have a solid substratum ofstone and block wells, on which girders could safely be erected even in the floods.Moreover communication could be made good across these openings in case of total

loss of their girders, by adapting the erecting staging to the support of a temporary lineof rails.

6. To this end a stack of sleepers, filled in solid with earth as a protection from fire,was actually erected in span AB. Along this communication with the land wasmaintained, and materials were carried over this and the erected spans to those beyondwhen the stages themselves had been carried forward in rotation. The abutment span atQR was not, however, filled up in this way, as sleepers were not available, owing to

causes beyond the control of this division, and it was clearly out of the question todivert one of the stages to this purpose, so long as it (the stage) could beadvantageously used for erecting girders in the bed of the river on the Adamwahanside, so long, that is, as the possible deficiency of girders did not admit of QR spanbeing itself erected.

7. The position of the river and the bridge at the commencement of the season was

as follows:—

Commencing from the Bahawalpur abutment, span QR was, as already stated, blockedwith stone and wells. The deep river flowed through spans PQ, OP, and NO, the depthin OP and PQ being some 55 feet, with violent swirls and eddies, rendering soundingdifficult and piling impossible. In NO the water shelved from a foot or two at N to 25feet at O, and the tendency was for the river to silt up at PQ, and gradually to cut itsway from O to N from N to M, and so on towards Adamwahan.

8. From N to M, L, and K, various shallow channels crossed the line of bridge, butthese were stopped up, and, by a strenuous effort, were filled with sand to a levelproper for the stages to stand on by the middle of December. In this half of the bridgepiers Q and R were built; L, M, N, O, and P, unbuilt in October, were ultimatelyfinished, P being the last in February.

9. Parallel with the bridge on the up-stream side, a shallow branch of the river ranfrom O pier to O, and crossed the bridge between B and C, where the water, thoughslow, was 17 feet deep. In DE and EF there were 4 or 5 feet of still water, and from F toK there was a sand bank varying from a foot or two above water to 4 or 5 feet.

10. On the Adamwahan side of the Dhund at CD, spans AB and BC were aloneavailable for immediate erection, but, as above stated, AB was left out, rather than useup a span that might under possible contingencies be required elsewhere.


11. On the above data, and on the necessity for working the cranes onwardscontinuously from one stage to the next, the programme for the season was at onceformulated, and the work divided into three portions as follows:—

(a). The sleeper stack was inserted in AB. Span BC was erected as a trial span onwhich to train the men, and the work of filling up spans CD, DE and EF, with sand for abasis to the staging was vigorously pushed. This, with spans FG and GH, constitutedthe first sub-division of erection, and spans FG and Gil were left to the last, as (being ona 4 feet sand bank) their ground was probably secure till February, whereas the sandfilling at CD, DE and EF, was just as likely to be destroyed by an early flood as anyother part of the work in the river bed.

12. (b). The bund closing the arm of the river which crossed at CD, was so arrangedas to form the base for a tramway from Adamwahan to pier G, which stood as beforestated in a sand bank. From G to H this tramway ascended by a steep ramp to the top ofH; and from H to I and K, the first stages of the second sub-division were erected on thedry island, and their spans also were erected while the building of the piers beyond,and the formation of more staging was in progress. The object of the second sub-division was to begin as near the deep river as was then feasible, and to push forward

as quickly as possible with the spans up to the brink of the deep stream, if possible to 0,but certainly to N.

18. (c). Meanwhile the river sub-division used every possible endeavor to hold theacquired ground from N towards Adamwahan, and if possible to reclaim span NO also,with a view to the early completion of the second sub-division, and the diversion of theriver from spans OP and PQ, under the second sub-division girders, during the firstanticipated serious rise in February.

14. This part of the programme was so far steadily adhered to, that from the timewhen the first trial span in the first sub-division was erected, before any work waspracticable in the river bed, all the spans that arrived, in order from the second to thesixth, were devoted to sub-division No. 2. At this point, however, the reclamation ofspan N O had twice been lost through unexpected floods, and the risk of losing thecostly filling from C to F had become so imminent that the 7th, 8th and 9th spans, in

order of arrival were given to the first sub-division, and it was not till the 10th spancame to hand that NO could be gone on with.

15. During this interval one of the cranes of the second sub-division was taken downand re-erected at the south abutment, in readiness to begin the water spans from thatend, as well as from N pier. The fact that the removal and re-erection of a craneoccupied at least three weeks, should be mentioned here as showing how absolutelynecessary it was to carry on the work progressively in one line, so that the cranes might

pass from one stage to the next uninterruptedly.


16. The third part of the programme referred to the two abutment spans, (whichwere necessarily left to the last, as per para. 5,) and the two water spans, in which theriver was ultimately confined for a time at OP and PQ. This sub-division, up to the

point when it was ready for the erection of the girders, formed the peculiar charge ofthe Executive Engineer personally.

17. The first project for this part of the work was to erect a temporary bridge, as near theline of staging as might conveniently be, and then, with the matured experience gainedon the temporary bridge, to erect the staging proper in the still deeper water which isnecessarily occasioned by the violent scour to which the piers give rise.

It was as a rider to this programme, which has never in fact been for a moment lostsight of, that the second sub-division was to be pushed forward, both as a means ofgetting the cranes and materials to O and P piers at all, and with a view to a diversion ofthe river towards M and N, leaving the deep water at OPQ comparatively slack, if notpartially silted.

18. The first attempts to pitch isolated piles in the 40 or 50 feet of water at the

proposed line of temporary bridge were so unpromising, that a plan was devised forusing strong tressles of four piles, heavily braced together, as piers for a temporarybridge, which was to be strengthened by additional single piles, for which the tressleswould serve as guides and as "steadiment." This method was tried early in November,but was abandoned as unfit for the staging when one leg of the experimental treeslewas found to stick up upon the stone sunk in the protective works, while the other legswere free to sink in the soil of the river bed.

19. The river, it is almost needless to say, tears up its bed with the utmost violence inthe floods, while, during the working season, although interrupted at irregular intervalsby casual freshen, the tendency is for the stream to shoal, and consolidate its bed, whileoperating mainly on its banks in its efforts to establish a regimen. The regimen it seeksis, in fact, a gradient so long in proportion to the fall, and a section so shallow in pointof depth, as between them to reduce the velocity of the stream below the point at whicheddies, and their concomitant scour, can be produced. It is a fact that in the Sutlej a

flood gradient of 1 in 7,500 is thus reduced to 1 in 10 or even 11 thousand, and that themean flood depth, which is certainly over 80 feet, and not infrequently 45 or 50,diminishes, as the seaon advances, to a point which makes the river impracticable forvessels drawing 4 or 5 feet of water, although, as may well be supposed, the contractionwhich occurs in the spans of a bridge keeps the depth in these very considerable at alltimes.

20. In virtue of these conditions the river bed became so far steady by the middle of

December, that a temporary bridge had been erected, though not without serious


difficulty, a few chains above the main bridge. Owing, however, to a totally unlookedfor fined occurring before the temporary bridge floor could be protected from scour, thework was utterly destroyed, and the river bed was so violently disturbed, thatoperations on this line, and a fortiori in the spans, were necessarily postponed

throughout January.

21. By February the admirable progress in the river sub-division with the left bankbreakwater, made a site feasible for a temporary bridge, which was at first out of thequestion, owing to its great length. The extension of the breakwater had moreoveranother effect, for by pushing the river oat of an oblique position into one where thestream ran squarely and comparatively smoothly through spans O P and P Q, it at oncemade piled staging practicable, and, at the same time, deprived the river of the cant

through which it formerly extended to divert itself under N O.

22. When it is remembered that the temporary bridge, in but 15 feet of water, wasdamaged more than once, and only finally completed for the Lieutenant-Governor'strain on the 14th of March, it will not be surprising that the first water stage, in 55 feet ofwater, was not an assured success, till the Director's visit at the end of the financial year.

23. The many unlooked for floods were certainly the main cause of delay to thetemporary bridges, and hence to the stagings, of which they were the necessarypreliminary experiments. Besides waiting for girders, N O had ultimately to be not onlythrice reclaimed, but also piled, owing to the restlessness of the river, and it thus fell outthat the alternative of diverting the river under N O span could not have been begun, inpoint of time, until as a matter of fact the stage in P Q was ready, while the advantagesof reserving this work for the period of the river's bed being most steady, and our ownexperience most matured, is fairly proved by the fact that it took from middle of

November to middle of March, before a temporary bridge was fairly established, afterwhich one stage was finished in four weeks, and the last one in a clear fortnight.

24. It is gratifying to report that the first sub-division was ready at the same time asthe second, and hence when the last and very serious flood of Good Friday came, thebreaches in the sand filling at O D, F G, L M, and N O, found all the girders over themready, and their stages in the act of being dismantled. It would have been even worse to

have let a half erected girder down, than to have failed, as, in such a season, we easilymight have failed, in staging spans of 56 feet and 48 feet depth.


No. 3210 W.

From:THE DIRECTOR OF STATE RAILWAYS,WESTERN SYSTEM

To:THE ENGINEER-IN-CHIEFINDUS VALLEY STATE RAILWAY.

Dated Murree, 19th June 1878.

The following is forwarded to the Engineer-in-Chief for information, with reference tothe correspondence ending with this office No. 2617W., dated 20th May last.

(Signed) F. W. Pura, Cor,. BE.,

Director, Western System.

Copy of a letter No. 1141, dated the 1st June 1878, from the Consulting Engineer to theGovernment of India for Guaranteed Railways, Lahore, to the Director of StateRailways, Western System.

Has the honor to forward for information, copy of Note by Consulting Engineer, dated

29th May last, on his Official Inspection of the Sutlej Bridge at Adamwahan, on theIndus Valley State Railway.

Node by Consulting Engineer fin. Guaranteed Railways, Lahore, on Official Inspectionof the Sulk Bridge at Adamwahas, on the Indus Valley State Railway.

Mr. Bell's Memo. herewith forwarded prevents the necessity of my giving anydescription of the bridge.

2. I began the inspection on the afternoon of Wednesday the 22nd May.

3. As there are 16 spans, all of which it was desirable to test, I arranged to observethe deflection under the test load of the 8 spans on the Bahawalpur side myself; ColonelBonus,2 R.E., who was with me, kindly consenting to do the same for the 8 spans on theMooltan side.

2Engineer-in-Chief, Punjab Northern State Railway.


4. For the former 8 spans, a train of three engines and tenders with five tracksloaded with stone in front and the same behind, was employed, a diagram of this trainshowing the weights at different points is appended, drawn out by Mr. Moyle,Assistant Engineer. The total weight on the span was 254 tons on a length of 260 feet, or

very nearly one ton per foot run.

5. This train was brought over each span in succession, and the deflection of eachgirder noted—first, when the train came to a stop; second, after an interval of 10minutes; third, after the train had rolled off again.

6. For observing the deflection two parallel vertical deal rods were employed, onefixed to the lower flange, the other supported on the ground or fixed in the water. By

ruling fine pencil lines across the parallel rods, the deflections to the .nth of an inchcould be noted with great accuracy, and were judged to the 1/32 of an inch.

7. For the other 8 spans, as stone tracks were not available, a train of five engines(three tank engines and two with tenders) was employed, though this did not quite overthe whole span, it was really a severer test than the other.

8. The results under both trains were, however, singularly uniform, as will appearon reference to the Table, the deflection in no instance exceeding 15/16, and beinggenerally under that while the set in one instance only amounted to as much as 1/8th ofan inch.

9. On the following morning, the train of five engines was passed slowly over thebridge from end to end, and the deflection noted by pencil diagrams. The regalia are

recorded, they do not differ sensibly from those under the former test.

10. On this morning I visited the protective bund, and, passing slowly over thebridge on a trolly, examined the details of the work as far as possible.

11. In the evening the train of five engines was driven over at speed, and theoscillation noted of three of these girders, including the one last finished, on which the

roadway plates were not completely rivetted, and which was therefore likely to showthe most unfavorable results, I took the observations on this myself with the verticalwire of a spirit level, which was directed on a card divided to 1/10th of an inch fixedlaterally to the lower flange. The result of several observations showed a meanoscillation 9/10th of an inch only, the girders observed by Colonel Bonus showing9/10th. The deflections under the fast train as shown by diagram were 1.4 and 1.8 onthe same girders.


12. The result of the above tests being so completely satisfactory, I did not think itnecessary to pursue them further.

13. I compute the strain on the centre of the upper and lower flange of any girder,

produced by its own dead weight of, 460 tons, and a uniform live load of 250 tons, asamounting to 2½ tons per square inch in compression, and 8 tons in tensionrespectively.

14. I am of opinion that the speed of trains over the bridge need only be limited bythe ordinary speed over the line, so soon as the roadway is quite finished. At presentthe rails follow the camber given to the girders, bat they will, I understand, be lifted andpacked to a level.

15. The covering plates of the roadway were intended I believe to be laid withasphalt, this has not yet been done, and it is, I understand, under consideration to coverthem with concrete. This, if laid to a sufficient thickness over the crown of the coverplates, will bring a considerable extra weight on the roadway, which it would be as wellto avoid if possible.

16. It certainly seems a pity that the top of the girders cannot be utilized for acarriage roadway, but the cost of the necessary approaches, at Freund, appears to put itout of question.

17. The ends of the earthen approaches where they join on to the abutments are atthe present very ragged, and should be finished off as soon as possible. I am not certainwhether there will not be some trouble with the masses of loose stone here proposed.

18. It may be as well to have fixed marks on each pier, which can be observedthrough a level from either shore during and after heavy floods. In spite of the greatdepth to which the well foundations have been sunk, it is still possible that subsidencemay occur.

19. I think the protective spur bund is likely to answer well, judging from theexperience obtained by the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway on the Sutlej, Bess and

Jumna, where similar groynes have certainly done good service, and I think it will notbe found necessary to continue the spur right on to the abutment. But I certainly thinkthe stone protection should be extended backwards over the crossing of Nowrungawah,and I believe the Director concurs in that view. I should also object to the continuouschannel along the toe of the present bund. If the river did take a set in that directionduring a period of high flood, the safety of the bund would certainly be endangered byany scour along its upper side.


20. At present there is no sign of any action of the river, which would threaten theright abutment or approach, but as I believe Adamwahan itself (which stands on thisbank) was inundated only a few years ago, it is quite possible that protective worksmay be required on this side also, and common prudence will dictate the maintaining of

large reserves of stone on both banks for some years to come.

21. Although not strictly within the sphere of my Report, as I happened to see thisbridge little more than a year ago, when the foundations were still unfinished, I cannothelp bearing my testimony to the extraordinary energy and skill, which must have beenshown by the officers concerned in completing this great work under circumstances ofconsiderable difficulty in so short a time.

indus valley state railway - sanipanhwar.com

Documents